The Ties That Bind
by SailorNightwatcher
Summary: All she wants is a family, a place where she is accepted by others. But due to her cautious nature and occupation as an assassin, it usually backfires on her. At least one person takes interest in her for who she is, and not her abilities.
1. And, Who Might You Be?

**Hi y'all! This is my new, and only, story as of right now, and my New Year's resolution is to finish one story before I start another. With that in mind, this is the first time I've done a One Piece fanfic, so please go easy on me if there's a bit of inconsistency. Please don't forget to review and/or subscribe; you have no idea how much it means to me!**

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The Ties That Bind Ch. 1 - And, Who Might You Be?

_"Home is a physical space; it's also a state of mind_."

- Gretchin Rubin

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The slim girl slunk down the padded hallway quietly, making virtually no sound on the carpet despite her heavy boots and quick steps. Checking around her, including above and the carpet below her to make sure that no one had heard her as of yet, she reached out her hand and grasped the door handle in front of her, turning it slowly and pushing it open slightly as it unlatched.

"What is it?" came the slurred voice from inside.

Shaking her head in disbelief while simultaneously trying to hide the laughter that threatened to escape her mouth, she quickly recovered and counted to three before walking silently into the room.

The man she was looking for sat behind his plush mahogany desk in a high-backed cushion chair, signing ledgers and documents without pause. He was a disgusting man, with fat rolling off him in waves and a pair of cigarettes in his mouth.

"And to think that this is one of the most feared men on this side of the world," she mused, finally voicing her thoughts out loud.

The man paused in his writing and looked up at her. She could clearly see the color drain from his face and waited for the inevitable claim that usually followed her around."Y-you..." stuttered the fat man behind the desk. "Gh-Gh-Gh-GHOST!"

She sighed; this man was just like the rest. "Now, that's such a rude thing to say to someone who never died," she stated calmly.

"But...y-you fell! I threw you over the cliff! As a D-Devil Fruit user, y-y-you should be dead!" the man shrieked.

"My dear Tristan, you should always learn about the Devil Fruit abilities _before_ you throw their users over a cliff. Waiting until afterwards can lead to...shall we say, _dire_ consequences." The girl plopped herself down on the man's desk and crossed her legs, swiveling to face him. "Of course, I could always kill you another way, if you prefer. It's just that drowning," she paused, pointing to the cliff outside the window, "is usually a less painful way to go. Similar to falling asleep, or so I've heard."

"J-just hold on a m-minute here, Aya-chan," begged the big man, shaking. "I-I'm sure you and I c-could just w-work something out!"

She leaned over, leaving no gap between her face and his stinking cigarettes. "Yet again, something you do _before_ you throw people off cliffs, Fatso," she said, pulling his cigarettes out of his mouth and extinguishing them using the desk. Two burn holes appeared on the surface of the wood, tarnishing the flawless craftmanship. Tristan attempted to backpedal away from the demon in front of him, but the chair was stuck in the rug and didn't move. He grabbed the arms of the chair as tight as he could and prayed for a miracle.

Said demon grinned wolfishly, and pulled two knives on her persona from their sheathes. "Oi, Fatso," she called to him. He opened one eye a sliver of the way, just enough to see what she was doing. Seeing her scrape the sides of the two blades together, his eyes quickly sprang open and he watched the two blades, petrified."Would you prefer the throwing knife or the hunting knife?" she asked casually.

"E-Eh?"

"I said, throwing knife or hunting knife, Fatso. You choose, because it determines how many more minutes you have left to keep living."

Tristan felt beads of sweat running down his neck as he looked at the two blades she held lightly in her hands. It gave the image of her waiting for her next meal, which made him shudder. He took a breath to give her his answer when a man's scream resounded down the hallway. He nervously let out the breath he was holding, and his nerves shot even higher when he heard the girl's comment.

"Damn pirates..."

Pirates? Pirates, here in his mansion? No, that wasn't possible. His mansion was protected! Sure, an assassin got to him without having to lift a finger, but come on! That was to be expected! He had Marines and bodyguards, and they were getting their asses kicked by some mere pirates?!

"Oh well, game over," the demon in front of him sighed with regret. Clearly an idea came over her face, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, making him flinch."I've just had a splendid idea!" she said to him happily. "Here's the deal: you will run, or rather waddle, as fast as you can for the door. I wil give you a two-second head start, and then I will throw these knives over my shoulder. If you get lucky and they both miss, then you can see if your luck continues with the pirates, because I won't be following you. Okay?"

Tristan nodded nervously, and stood up as he was told."Ready? Here goes!"And with that, Tristan waddled as fast as he could towards the double doors, slipping out the open one just as the count of "Two!" was heard. Milliseconds later, two thuds resounded on the _other_ side of the closed door, and Tristan could have sworn that he saw the points of each blade sticking out of _his_ side of the door, prompting him to waddle for dear life.

Deciding to let the pirates decide his fate wasn't her most satisfying choice, but she let it go just the same and recollected her knives before returning to the desk. Leafing through the documents on his desk for anything of use to her, she concluded that it was all trash and discarded it.

"Looking for something, _Madamoiselle_?" came a smooth voice from the doorway.

Not bothering to see who it was since she had already sensed the person's entrance as to be non-life-threatening, she opened the drawers of Tristan's desk."Well, unless you happen to have something that I need, then no, I'm not looking for anything, but thanks for asking," she answered.

"Would you happen to know where the treasure room is then, Miss?" asked the voice again.

"Down two floors, and through the double doors on your right," she replied, not even having to think about it.

"Much obliged," said the voice.

The presence left, signifying the man's departure. Not finding anything of value or importance in Tristan's desk, she not-so-gently shut the drawers and turned to look out the massive double windows that stood behind the equally large desk. Opening one, she looked down at the ground below her, and the sea that surrounded it. _'Throwing people off a cliff in your own backyard was not such a bright thing to do, now, was it,'_ she mused quietly before jumping out the window. She walked to the edge of the cliff, watching the sea come up at her as the waves broke against the cliff face. She sat and stared out at the ocean.

_'It's time to leave again, isn't it?'_ she thought to herself. _'Once again, I have to leave everybody behind and try to get into the good graces of new people in the next place. I'm tired of always being on the move..._

A scream ripped through the air from the second story window. Smiling to herself, she leaned back on her hands, dangled her legs over the edge, and let the wind pick up her hair, throwing it into a tumbled mess._'But I'm almost there. This is almost over. Just a few more jobs and I'll be able to settle in with the guys. I'll have a steady income, and then I can repay my debt until I'm free!'_

"Oi, you!" came a gruff voice from behind her.

Returning to reality, she leaned even further back and bent her head backwards in time to see, upside-down of course, a green-haired swordsman coming towards her.'_Marimo_,' was her first thought. It made her smile, and she rolled over onto her stomach, sliding forwards to pull herself away from the edge of the cliff.

"How can I be of service to you, swordsman?" she asked sweetly, with a large grin on her face.

He scowled. "Who are you? Are you one of the fat guy's comrades?"

Her face darkened, and the smile vanished. "No. I would gladly kill myself before I work for someone like him."The swordsman stared at her, confused."Fatso was my target. My boss is more powerful and well-known than that loser. It just so happened that Fatso pissed off my boss, and I had to clean up after him."

"Then, who do you work for?"

She stared at him coldly. "None of your business. Not yet, anyway. It would be better for you if you didn't know, trust me."

"NAMI-SWAAAAN!" came a shout from the side of the mansion.

The marimo-headed swordsman groaned. "That stupid ero-cook!" he cursed under his breath. A few moments later, a tall, blonde man came running around the corner, but stopped at the sight of the pair at the edge of the cliff. Anger made his brows snap together, and he advanced on the swordsman."Oi, Marimo," he threatened. "Just what do you think you're doing to that lady over there?"

"Inquiring," answered the swordsman shortly. "You got a problem with that, you erotic cook?"

"If it involves a lady, then you bet I do!" answered the blonde hotly.

A moment later, a pair of fists appeared over their heads, each one clobbering one of the men over the head into submission. "Fight later, guys," scolded the orange haired girl behind them. "Luffy says we have to get our asses moving right now!"The two men grumbled their acquiescence, and the darker haired woman behind them smiled. The blonde tried to make it up to her by stating that he had her treasure, but despite the beli signs that appeared in her eyes, she remained calm.

"Where are you headed?" asked the assassin casually.

"Now that the Log Pose is set, our next stop should be Dressrosa, and then Zou in order to drop off Law and the samurai dudes," answered the orange-haired girl. "Why?"

"Would you mind terribly if I tagged along? My destination is Dressrosa, you see, and I'd rather not have to stow away with cargo."

"Well, I guess it'd be okay, but you'd have to check with the captain first," said the orange-hair. "We have to go meet up with him, so why don't you come with us?"

"Thank you very much," came the reply.

"Come along, you two," said the orange viciously, grabbing the two men by the ear and dragging them along.

"RIGHT AWAY, NAMI-SWAAAN!"

The young assassin trailed behind the unorthodox crew all the way to the harbor, where they met up with more of the crew: a perverted cyborg, an equally perverted living skeleton, a reindeer who was apparently their doctor, and the captain, a rubber teen and well-known as the son of the Revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon, Monkey D. Luffy.

Said captain came running up to her. "COOL! You guys brought back a new friend! Hey, will you PLEEEEASE join my crew?"

Pulling out another pair of knives from their sheathes, she flipped one so that she was holding it backwards and pointed the other one at the rubberman who had embraced her. "Let go, Captain, before I slice you into tomorrow," she replied cooly, her head swimming with the rubber man's thoughts and emotions. "And no, I will not join your...crew. I am simply traveling with you until I reach Dressrosa, and then we'll go our separate ways. In return for your assistance, I will help you fend off any attacks that may fall upon this ship until we reach Dressrosa. Fair enough?"

The rubber human nodded excitedly as she resheathed her knives, and turned to the cyborg.

"Franky, are we all set to sail?"

The cyborg nodded in return. "Awaiting your orders, Captain!"

"Sanji?"

"Ready here too, Captain!" came the blonde's voice from one of the cabins.

"Chopper?"

"All set, Luffy!" called out the little reindeer, making the assassin do a double-take.

_'What a weird crew,'_ she thought. _'It's a wonder that this ship gets anywhere.'_

"SET SAIL!" yelled Luffy loudly.

She watched as Sanji and the marimo-head climbed the ropes up to the sails, jumping off the mast and unfurling the sails at the same time. Nami looked at her Log Pose and then gave Franky directions, to which Franky responded by giving the helm a good spin counter-clockwise, away from the dock. The marimo-head moved to the rear of the ship, and Luffy stretched his rubber arms out until he grasped the figurehead of the ship, his body catching up with his arms a moment later and plopping him down on top of it.

Slowly but surely, the ship backed out of the port and turned towards the open sea. The ship's sails caught the wind full on, propelling the ship forwards towards the next island. Quickly adapting to the rocking of the sea, the crew relaxed and dispersed, each person doing their own thing.

Luffy's head then popped into her field of vision directly in front of her nose, prompting her to grab his head and pull him down so that he now sat in front of her. She leaned back against the ship's railing, quickly releasing him due to the torrent of thoughts invading her mind, and studied the teen as he excitedly turned to face her.

"So, what's your name?" he asked her, cocking his head almost completely sideways.

She observed him for a minute more before giving a big sigh. This kid wasn't out to get her, so no harm there. "I've had many names before, but the one that I usually go by is Aya."

"Hmmmmm..." the rubber man scratched his chin, as if thinking of something, then jumped up onto his feet. "Okay! Aya, will you join my crew?"

Aya stared at the rubber kid before her, trying very hard to fight the face-palm urge that overcame her. "I told you already, no. My answer won't change just because you keep asking me."

"Awww, why not?" Luffy pouted.

_'This kid is seriously a captain?'_ she thought. "Because I am under a contract with someone else right now, and until the contract is over I have to do as he says," she replied.

The dispirited captain left, and she was soon approached by the rest of the crew, sans the marimo-head.

"Sorry'" said Nami as she watched Luffy pout on the figurehead of the ship. "He's always like that."

"May I ask why you follow him as a Captain?"

"Well, there are two reasons, Aya-chan," replied Sanji, blowing out a puff of smoke from the cigarette in his mouth and ignoring the glare she gave him for calling her by that nickname. "One is that we are each following our own dreams, but we are all headed in the same direction: the end of the Grand Line, Raftel. And the second reason is because he knows the true meaning of friendship and will do anything for us, so we're returning the favor."

Aya observed Sanji as well, before turning to face the sea and leaning against the railing. She watched as the island behind them continuously shrank, getting smaller by the minute. "The true meaning of friendship, huh?" she muttered to herself. She felt tears spring to her eyes at the thought, but quickly willed them away.

She felt the eyes of the Straw-Hat crew watching her, but didn't move or acknowledge them again, and so their presences disappeared one by one as they went back to doing their own thing. Deciding to make herself useful ,since she was borrowing their ship, she quickly scaled the ropes that led up to the crow's nest and lightly hopped into it. She did a quick 360-degree check of the sea around them, but the only thing she saw was the receding island in the distance. Looking up at the sun to see what time it was, she decided to check the area again in another hour. Pulling out her journal from the knapsack on her back, she began writing an account of what had happened during her stay in Tristan's mansion; she knew her boss would use it later to evaluate her performance.

The time passed quickly as she got lost in her writing, not forgetting to check on the ship's surroundings every once in a while. As evening neared, she was interrupted by Sanji, carrying a bowl of hot food."I brought you dinner, Aya-chwan~!" he sang as he popped over the cross of the mast into the crow's nest.

Aya put her journal back into her knapsack along with the pencil, and gave Sanji a cold stare that made him cower slightly. "While I appreciate the gesture, it would be appreciated if you didn't call me by that name, Sanji-san."

Sanji was taken aback for a moment, but apparently could not be stopped. "As you wish, Princess!" he said brightly. "Won't you join us in my lovely kitchen?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to refuse, Sanji-san," she declined forcefully. "I prefer to be by myself."

Sanji stared at her before climbing out of the crow's nest and back down the ropes, looking up at the crow's nest one last time as he walked back to his kitchen to save the food from the bottomless stomach of his captain.

Back up in the crow's nest, Aya picked up the bowl that Sanji had left behind and started eating, eventually digging in and wolfing it all down due to hunger. She leaned back against the side of the crow's nest, listening to the noise that came from the Straw-Hat crew's dinner below.

Eventually the marimo-head came up to the crow's nest, obviously surprised to see it already occupied by someone else. Aya nodded to him in greeting, and he responded with a grunt of acknowledgement. With someone else occupying the crow's nest, Aya took the opportunity to go stretch her legs on the deck for a little while.

What she didn't expect was to see Trafalgar Law sitting under the orange tree, staring at her with his nodachi balanced on his shoulder. She stared at him, observing him and determining his threat level to her person. He stared back for some unknown reason, and his eyes seemed to pierce down to her very soul. They were cold, gray eyes that perfectly matched his personality. It was no wonder he was called the "Surgeon of Death" with a gaze like that.

"Oi!" came a shout from the crow's nest.

The pair on deck looked up at the marimo-head, who was leaning over to look down at them.

"There's a ship approaching from the port side, heading directly for us!"

"Can you identify it?" Law called up.

"It's hard to tell, but it looks like the Marines!" the swordsman responded.

"How far out?" Law asked.

"They're on the horizon, but moving fast. Two minutes at the most!"

The rest of the crew, and a samurai with his son, rushed out of the cabin prepared for a fight.

Seeing the grin on their faces, she reasoned that there would be no need for her to assist them in this fight and relaxed against the starboard railing to watch them. Apparently the surgical Shichibukai had gotten the same idea, as he moved to stand next to her against the railing.

"There's around two thousand Marines coming at us," mused the assassin out loud.

Law's head turned in surprise. "There's no way that two thousand Marines can fit on that one ship," he countered.

Aya nodded her head to the stern and the bow of the ship. "Seems like there are quite a few ships out there," she replied. And sure enough, moments later the marimo-head sighted more warships coming from the front and the rear of the ship.

Law turned to her. "How did you know?" he asked, his grey eyes belying a spark of curiosity within him.

"I've been well trained to sense people," she replied casually. "Besides, those Marines are making quite a ruckus."

Law stared at her, before turning to keep an eye on the Straw-Hat captain.

The Marines were finally within cannonball range, and they started firing with all their might at the tiny pirate ship. Rocking with the boat at the close calls as the cannonballs still fell just short of the ship, the assassin smiled. "Now this is more like it!" she said cheerily.

Law, a bit more cautious due to his Devil Fruit ability, watched as she started laughing. They both ducked as a cannonball soared over their heads, which irritated him a bit and he decided to jump into the game.

"_Room_," he said quietly.

A blue sphere extended around the ship and even reached the warships, changing the atmosphere and catching the attention of the Marines. Instantly, cries could be heard from the leading Marine warship. "It's the Shichibukai, Trafalgar Law!" "It's Law!" "The Surgeon of Death!" _"Stay away!"_

Aya turned to him. "You're quite popular, aren't you?"

Law grinned back at her. "Comes with the job," he replied. Unsheathing his nodachi, he made slashing motions in the air. Several hundred marines found their various body parts, and parts of the ship, flying through the air next to them.

"_Shambles_," he stated calmly.

Immediately, the body parts started spinning around in Law's artificial atmosphere until they collided with something else. More than one Marine had the...ehrm, _pleasure_ of seeing the ship's pieces get attached where their arms or legs should have been and a comrade's body part in the wrong spot on the wrong body.

Aya, watching him from behind, gave a low whistle. "Very nice, Mr. Law," she stated, approving.

"Why, thank you," he responded, keeping a casual eye on the chaos he had created.

"Now it's my turn," said Aya. Instead of the wolfish grin that normally adorned her face, a look of dread had taken it's place. She walked to the port side of the ship, watching as the Straw-Hat crew continuously attacked the lead warship. Deciding that they had enough power to take care of it, she walked to the rear of the ship and faced the two oncoming warships who had decided to try and take out the ship's rudder and rear half.

She extended one arm towards one warship, and the other arm towards the other. _"Soul Link,"_ she stated calmly.

Hundreds of foreign thoughts and emotions suddenly entered her head, making her waver and lose focus momentarily. She fought the urge to drop the link and clear her head, wincing at the cacophany that raged inside her head. Tightening her rein on those invading thoughts, she balled both outstretched hands into fists. _"Perish Song."_

Far away, on the decks of the Marine ships, the Marines all screamed as they felt the life being extinguished from their bodies. They fell silent a minute later, and slowly fell to the deck or overboard into the ocean.

Releasing the grip on her powers, Aya slowly opened her eyes. The pair of warships were silent; nothing moved on them except for the billowing sails. Exhaling, Aya collapsed onto the deck of the smaller ship, unable to support her weight any longer. Pushing herself backwards until she was up against the railing, she screamed as the emotions of those hundreds of Marines suddenly overwhelmed her mind.

_'Death,'_ the voices whispered. _'That's all you're good for; that's what people like you live for! You are worthless, a forsaken piece of garbage unless you kill!' 'You honestly believe you can ever have friends, when all you bring is the promise of death to others?' 'Forget it! Nobody wants trash like you around! Why don't you just go kill yourself and spare everyone else the trouble, huh?'_

Aya wrapped her arms over her head, trying to block out the voices that pelted her with insults. Her head felt like it could split at any second; the raging thoughts hurt her head and her chest, making her head pound and her heart race. She thought she felt someone's hands on her arms and her cheeks, but she was unable to open her eyes to see who it was or what they were doing.

Just as suddenly as they had come, the voices all fell silent, and she became aware of a hand at the side of her neck.

_'Pressure point, huh?'_ she thought as her consciousness started to fade.

_'Thank you, whoever you are.'_


	2. Decisions, Decisions

**Wow, that happened quickly! The first chapter was barely up for half an hour, and I had four subscribers? Therefore, my thanks to Nadeshiko291210, Reference D. Anime, paigemitchell98, and robotsftw232 for being my first subscribers! Also, thank you to 10th Squad 3rd Seat for being the first reviewer and catching my errors in the first chapter. Thanks to that, I was able to catch some other errors as well. Hopefully now I've caught them all!**

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The Ties That Bind Ch. 2 - Decisions, Decisions

_"We don't mind being alone, but we hate being lonely."_

- Stuart Abrams

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She let out a soft groan as she slowly woke up; she felt as if she had been thrown into the ground repetitively and her head was throbbing. She didn't even bother trying to sit up, knowing that the action would lead to her stomach revolting.

"Finally awake, are we?" came a smooth, amused voice from across the room.

Lifting her head and squinting through the pain to see who was with her, she let her head plop back down into the pillow. _'Great, that's just friggin' great. Of all people...'_

A very amused Surgeon of Death sat on the other side of the room, watching her with a smile across his face. "Feeling better, little sorceress?" he asked wickedly.

She groaned, making sure that he could here it. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. "And I'm not a sorceress."

He cocked his head to the side and continued to watch her. "Taking care of my patient, of course," he replied casually.

"Right..." she was about to close her eyes when the full impact of his statement hit her. "Patient?" She sat up, instantly putting a hand to her head as the room started to spin. She tried to shake it off, but that only made matters worse.

The surgeon noticed her discomfort and frowned. "Lay down. You won't be able to get up for another few hours."

She glared at him, but followed his orders and lay back down; he wasn't a doctor for nothing. "Why, exactly, have I been confined to bed rest?" she asked.

The doctor sighed. "That's what we'd like to know. One minute you're killing people from two warships at once, and the next you were having a panic attack and screaming your head off, but you weren't hurt. I had to knock you out for quite some time."

Aya stared at him for a few minutes before closing her eyes and letting out a big sigh. "So it was you who knocked me out?"

The doctor nodded; not that she could see it. He could see that she was clearly fighting a battle in her mind, and he knew the moment the battle was decided.

"...thank you."

"I'm sorry?"

She opened her eyes again. "I said, 'thank you'. If you hadn't done that, then it could have ended very differently for me."

The doctor walked over to her, looking at the instruments and recording numbers on a chart. When he was done, he sat down on the side of the bed and stared directly at her. "Care to tell me why an assassin and mass murderer had to be knocked out to save herself?" he said, his voice and his eyes equally cold.

Aya stared back at him. His eyes were even more intimidating up close, and she knew that there was no shirking this man above her. She looked away from his gaze, unable to match him any longer. "Would you mind getting the others, then? I don't think I'll be able to say this more than once."

"Screw the others," came the response. She looked up at him, surprised. "You owe me for saving your life, and this is how you'll repay me. The others don't need to know."

She watched him, considering it, and then gave in. "Fine. But after this, we're even, understand?" The doctor nodded, and she sat back against the pillow. "You should get comfortable; this will take a while." The doctor's only response was to shift his legs onto the end of the bed, showing that he clearly wasn't going anywhere.

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_It was Christmas; that was supposed to be a happy day in her family. What on earth was wrong with everybody?_

_On one side of the living room, her mother and father were fighting over which boat they would take to get off this "godforsaken" island. On the other side, her two older brothers were fighting over who would make it into the Marines first. It quickly evolved into a brawl, which her parents ignored._

_Unsure what to do, she decided to look for her presents by herself. Moving to the tree in the corner of the room, she looked at the base of the tree._

_Nothing. Once again, there were no presents for Christmas. No "Merry Christmas" for her, just bitter disappointment._

_As tears began to fall from her eyes, she ran up the stairs to her room and threw herself on the bed. The sounds of the two fights followed her up the stairs, filling her ears and making her cry even harder. She reached out and grasped her only friend, a rag doll her parents had given her as an infant. Bringing it's head to her face, she muffled her cries in the doll's face and cried herself to sleep._

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_Five years later. She was twelve, her older brothers sixteen and fourteen. Their parents had run off the year before, and now both of the boys were planning on enlisting at the same time._

_Sitting at the bar with a glass of juice, she wallowed in her sadness and thought about her situation. What was wrong with everybody; why was everybody leaving her? She hadn't done anything wrong, had she?_

_Swirling the last of the juice around in the glass, she downed it all and slammed the glass down on the bar's wooden surface._

_"Easy there, kiddo," said the bartender, Arthur. "Don't go breaking my bar now, you hear?"_

_Looking up at the man, she gave him a dirty look. "Go stuff yourself, old man," she said viciously. She slid off the barstool, pulled a few coins out of her pocket, and slammed them down on the bar as well before walking out the door, leaving the bartender to have a fit, complaining that twenty-four wasn't old._

_Walking down the street towards her house, she was alarmed to hear the neighbors talking._

_"Those two boys have done it again! They're always so violent; it's no wonder the parents had a hard time with them!" "I know, right? Thank goodness they finally left! I say, 'Good riddance!'"_

_Aya picked up her pace until she was in a dead run, being careful not to trip and fall as she made her way down the hill. She skidded to a stop in front of her house, only to see the street in front of it packed with people._

_Forcing her way through the people, she made her way to the front of the crowd and stopped, shocked._

_The house looked as if a warship had torn through it. The shutters were open and hung partially broken away from the house; the door had been forced outwards off its hinges into the street; overall, the entire house looked as if it had caught on fire since the normally golden walls were dark brown, almost black._

_She slowly walked towards the house, stepping over the wood and splinters. The house was structurally sound, but practically unlivable. The food lockers and refridgerator were all empty, and all of her brothers' clothes were gone._

_Racing up the now-creaky stairs, she turned the corner into her room. Her clothes, her blankets, and her belongings were all gone._

_She stood there, shocked, as her brain absorbed all of the information. And slowly, very slowly, the walls that she had erected around her mind broke. She fell to the floor, tears streaming her face, but no sound escaped her mouth._

_For hours, she didn't move, allowing all of her anger and grief to escape her. Only once she could cry no more did she stand and take another look around her. There really was nothing there except for the frame of her hard-oak bed and the metal box under it. Now what was she going to do..._

_Metal box? Her mind backtracked, and her eyes fell on the metal box on the inside of her bed frame. Going over to it, the twelve-year-old grabbed each side and hoisted it onto her bedframe. Making sure it wouldn't tip onto the floor, she released the latches which held the box closed, and with shaky hands opened it._

_Lying there, on top of some of her other belongings, was her favorite rag doll. She sat back on her haunches and pulled the doll out of the box. It was dirty, but miraculously still intact. She hugged the doll tightly, inhaling its familiar, comforting scent and threading her fingers through the doll's yarn hair._

_Eventually, her legs started to complain, and so she set the doll aside to lok through the rest of the box. There was her favorite satchel, which was still a bit too large for her, and underneath that was spare beli._

_She put the beli in the satchel's front pocket, and opened up the largest pocket. Inside was her journal, a pencil, and a map; everything a young explorer would need to go on adventures, right?_

_She replaced the journal and the map, and decided to put her doll in the satchel as well. Getting up, she realized that it was already early afternoon. Slinging the satchel on her back, she made her way down the stairs and out of the house. The villagers who had gathered there parted like water before her, and she felt their eyes on her as she walked past them._

_She walked down to the harbor. She knew that ships came and went, and was going to wait and see if anybody would be willing to take her along. To her surprise, Arthur was at the harbor as well._

_"I figured I'd catch you here," he said with a smile. "You always did like the ocean."_

_She looked up at him in surprise. How did he know that?_

_Arthur looked out at the open sea. "You see, I was once a treasure hunter before I came here. I still long for the sea, and I've seen that exact same expression on your face for quite a while now."_

_He turned to her, his face troubled. "I heard what the townsfolk are saying, Iruka-chan. Are you alright?"_

_She debated lying to him, but since she could tell that he was genuinely worried she decided against it. "I'm leaving, Arthur," she said quietly, also looking out over the ocean. "My family is gone, my house is in ruins, and the town people don't want me around because I'm from "that" family. So I've decided to leave."_

_Arthur nodded his head in understanding. "I see. Well then, I guess I should say good luck to you."_

_She looked up at him. "You aren't going to stop me?"_

_He looked down at her in return. "Why should I? You clearly aren't comfortable here anymore, and you deserve to find people who will accept you for who you are."_

_She looked down at her shoes. "Thanks, Arthur."_

_He placed a hand on her head and ruffled her hair, something he knew annoyed her. "Anytime, pipsqueak."_

_"Hey, I am NOT a pipsqueak!"_

* * *

Aya took a break in her story to catch her breath. Tears flooded her eyes at the memories, and she closed her eyes, allowing a single tear to fall.

Law waited patiently for her to continue, absorbing everything she told him and mentally storing it away.

"And then, that's when my life turned into slavery," continued Aya.

The phrase caught Law's ears. " Slavery?" he said, surprised.

She nodded. "Yeah, essentially."

"Who's your master, then?" he asked, curious.

She hesitated, and twisted the sheets around her fingers nervously. "Can I ask you a question, first?"

Law paused, but then nodded and allowed her to continue.

"How long has it been since you stopped working for Doflamingo?"

Law's head snapped up, and his face turned dark. "That _filth_? What does he have to do with this?"

Aya panicked momentarily. "Sorry! I'm sorry! But...please, could you answer my question?"

Law stared at her before he answered. "Roughly four or five years, why?"

Aya looked down at the sheets, knowing what was coming. "He still talks about you, you know..."

Law jumped up, reaching for her throat. _"You work for him? For that trash?!"_ he spat out darkly, tightening his grip over her windpipe.

Surprisingly, Aya was calm underneath him, surprising him so that he lessened the pressure on her throat, allowing her to speak.

"He's my Master," she admitted quietly, tears in her eyes. "He turned me into an assassin, gave me my Devil Fruit powers, and raised me for nearly four years. Four cruel, vicious, and unbearable years. I haven't even begun to pay him back yet, and my contract doesn't end for another three years."

Law recomposed himself, releasing his hold on her neck and sitting back. "It seems you aren't happy with your contract."

Aya looked at him. "Of course not. That's not family; that's slavery. I'm trying to find people who will treat me as equals, with respect and kindness for who I am and not how useful I can be."

"So why aren't you taking up the Straw-Hats on their offer to join their crew?" asked Law.

Aya let out a snort of derision. "Seriously? Neither Luffy nor Kidd would have the ability to take on Doflamingo right now. As a member of a pirate crew, I'm not safe from him. Right now, I have to suck it up and take it."

Law pondered deeply for a minute, leaving the two in silence. When he spoke up again, there was a dangerous glint in his eye. "I have a proposal for you, then. Join my crew when we reach Zou, and lend me your fighting abilities, and I will free you from Doflamingo using my own powers as Shichibukai."

Aya looked at him darkly. "So I can be your pet that you use to satisfy your desires?"

"No, so that you can be a part of a crew who will look after you to the death and be free of Doflamingo at the same time," said Law, cutting through her dark assumptions swiftly. "While it's true that you are a powerful fighter, I'm asking you to join us because I believe that you have something to offer us. And I do not leave anyone in my crew behind, Aya," he stated forcefully, looking into her eyes.

The look made her shudder; he commanded obedience and respect. "How long do I have to decide?" she asked.

"Until tomorrow evening," he said shortly. "I believe Straw-Hat's navigator has said that we'll be making landfall at that time."

Aya nodded, and Law got up off the bed. Checking the machines one last time, he walked to the cabin door. "I'll have the cook send you some soup so that you can eat something that won't revolt in your stomach," he stated before opening the door and walking out. The door latched behind him with a small _click. _Aya sighed.

_'Now what do I do?'_

* * *

**I have to give credit here to my soul sister and fellow author praeses, for allowing me to borrow Arthur for this chapter. I couldn't post this chapter without her permission, since Arthur actually belongs in her story, "Phantoms of the Underworld," which I will promote until the day that story is completed because both she and the story are just that awesome. And he's a badass bartender in her story, so I suggest you check it out! Thank you, praeses, and have a good week in the warmer weather! I'm jealous because my home is currently in the midst of getting snowed in, so...**

**Also, that rag doll that Aya cherishes is real. It is based off of a rag doll that I have in my room which I sleep with every night. I've had it for fifteen years, and it is the only present that my parents got me together before they got divorced shortly afterwards. That doll has stayed with me through seven homes and is my most prized possession, despite the fact that the dirt that has accumulated will never get washed out again.**

**Please, PLEASE either review or favorite this story (preferably both, but I believe that that's being too greedy for someone like me), because it gives me a lot of encouragement to keep writing for you guys!**


	3. That Smiling Jolly Roger

**Hey again! You're still with me, right? I'm rather sad that this chapter isn't longer, but I hope that it is interesting. I promise that the more badass curbstomping will come later on in the story, so please just bear with it (if you don't know what curbstomping is, please look up "TV Tropes" and then put "Curb-Stomp Battle" in its search bar)! Also, the update frequency may begin to drastically slow down, since the Spring 2014 semester begins in roughly two and a half weeks. I may only get a quarter to a third of a chapter done per day, and that's if I'm really lucky. I should be practicing my Mandarin, but...**

**Thanks to Shiningheart of ThunderClan and pharoah999 for their reviews! I'll respond to any reviews I get here, before the chapter.**

** 10th Squad 3rd Seat: That means that I accomplished what I wanted to do with that chapter, thank you so much for the review! Have you checked out Arthur in "Phantoms of the Underworld" yet? If you think that my Arthur is awesome, you should see what praeses has done with the "original" Arthur! And I'll pass your comment on to her so that she knows you liked him!**

** Shiningheart: Doflamingo is one scary dude, let me tell you. There's a reason why he's a Shichibukai. And his methods would not be very pretty, either.**

** pharoah999: I hope I got your username right, and I sincerely apologize if I didn't! I also love Law fanfics, but I feel that the poor Surgeon of Death doesn't get enough credit to his abilities, Devil Fruit or otherwise. And I really want to be careful of making Law too Out Of Character (OOC).**

* * *

The Ties That Bind Ch 3 - That Smiling Jolly Roger

_"Stories are for when you wonder how you got from where you were to where you are."_

- Tim O' Brien, _The Things They Carried_

* * *

She must have fallen asleep again after her encounter with Death's Surgeon, because she woke again with a start. She immediately noticed that her head was no longer throbbing and she could breathe easier; looks like the effects of the mental assault were over.

However, the use of her power still left after-effects. She got up off the bed, testing her legs. They were still a bit shaky, but at least they would hold her weight now. Grimacing at the slow pace she would have to use, she grabbed the sweater that sat at the end of the bed and slipped it on over her head. She resolved then and there to never use her powers on that large of a scale again unless it was a life-or-death situation. She slowly walked over to the cabin door, pulled it open, and closed it behind her.

The Straw-Hats, Law, and the two samurai were all sitting on the deck, circled around a map of the city. She watched as Nami pointed out specific points on the map while Law watched the circle, clearly formulating a plan of some sort.

Descending down the steps onto the deck, she immediately caught the attention of those assembled.

"AYAAAAA!" shouted Luffy, excited. "AYA- SWAAAAN!" followed Sanji. The two ran over to her and began fighting over who would get to hug her first. She watched them for a few seconds, before giving both men the slip and walking over to the circle of people on the floor of the deck.

"Feeling better?" asked Nami, staring at her with a surprised look as Aya sat down on the deck just outside the circle of people.

"Much better, thank you," replied Aya with a smile.

Realizing that Aya was no longer in front of them, Sanji and Luffy returned to the circle. They stared at Aya for a moment before looking at the map again.

"So, what's going on?" asked Aya, catching the stare that had been sent her way before looking over the map.

"Well, ever since we left Punk Hazard a week ago, we've been headed towards Dressrosa," said Nami, staring at her again before returning her attention to the map.

"We're making a plan to go after Doflamingo," stated Law calmly. "While the Straw-Hats may not be able to go after Doflamingo directly, with the exception of Mr. Straw-Hat here, they can still accomplish our other goal. I need their help in destroying a factory that Doflamingo runs on the island; by doing so, it will estrange him from the Yonkou, Kaidou."

"Kaidou? The one that Red-Haired Shanks fought before Marineford?" Aya asked, surprised.

Law and Luffy nodded. "You know Shanks?" asked Luffy, excited.

Aya snorted in disbelief. "Everybody knows Shanks now, Luffy. Not only is he a Yonkou, but he saved a Marine kid and single-handedly (no pun intended) stopped Admiral Sakazuki, thereby ending the Great War. He's already in the history books, I can assure you."

"It's _Fleet_ Admiral Sakazuki now," corrected Law with a grimace.

"Oh, great," Aya replied with sarcasm. "Now he'll have more power to enact his Absolute Justice philosophy, a bigger ego, and be an even bigger asshole than before."

The pirates on deck burst into a laughter, even managing to get a chuckle out of the marimo-head and a smile from Law.

"What does Doflamingo have to do with Kaidou, though?" asked Aya, confused.

Law gave her an incredulous look. "You mean you don't know?"

Aya returned the look. "What? I only know the illegal underground dealer side and the flashy Shichibukai side that he puts on for the Marines. I don't think even his four Generals have a clear picture of what he does as a pirate."

"It's said that in order to survive in the New World, one must ally with one of the Four Emperors at one time or another. Doflamingo has allied himself with Kaidou, so if we go after him not only do we get rid of a pain-in-the-ass, but it's one less person whom Kaidou can later call on to protect himself," deduced Sanji, nodding. Law nodded to him in agreement.

Aya hunkered down a bit more in her sweater, and unfortunately for her, everybody on deck saw it. Law, of course, was the only one who knew. He guessed that she was nervous about taking on her boss, and with good reason, but that would have to wait until later.

Aya looked at the group around her, seeing Zoro, Sanji (again), and the samurai father staring at her before looking away as if they hadn't seen anything. Giving up, she let out a large breath. "Okay, why is everybody staring at me and pretending I didn't notice?"

The Straw-Hat crew looked everywhere but in her direction, while Law just smiled. The samurai boy hesitated before pointing at her.

"Me?" asked Aya, confused. "What's wrong with me?"

"Ummm...it's your sweater," said the boy's father carefully.

"The sweater? What does the sweater have to..." she pulled on the end of the sweater and held her arms out, finally seeing the symbol that had was sewn into it.

She knew the symbol, since it was Doflamingo's Jolly Roger. Two black eyes, with a wide grin that showed all of the teeth with a circle as the face's border. And yet, this Jolly Roger didn't have a line running diagonally through it's left eye, and the face had a broken border around it.

"This is Doflamingo's Jolly Roger, but...why is it so different?" asked Aya, staring at the sweater.

"Because _that_ symbol is _my_ Jolly Roger," said Law neutrally. He wasn't sure if he should be upset that she compared it to Doflamingo's Jolly Roger or happy that she was actually wearing his sweater. He opted for somewhere in between, and watched Aya's reaction with anticipation.

Aya stared at him, unable to speak. The circle was quiet, and nobody moved as everybody waited for her response. Law smiled at her.

Abruptly, Aya got up and left, making her way to the cabin she had left earlier. Pulling the sweater over her head, she remembered Law wearing it the day before last, when he was sitting under the orange tree. She chucked it across the room, and it landed on the desk that Law had sat in front of the day before, when she had first woken. She looked at it before throwing herself on the bed and burying her face in her pillow.

A few minutes later, a sharp rap on the door and the _click _of the latch warned her of someone entering the room. She immediately identified it as Law; she knew everybody's presence now, so was unsurprised to know that he had followed her.

He looked at his sweater, strewn over the desk with the arms hanging off each side. Walking over to it, he picked it up and folded it into quarters, tucking it under his arm as he made his way over to her bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out an arm towards her.

Aya quickly flipped herself over and grabbed his arm. _"Soul Link,"_ she spat out viciously.

Law was taken aback as Aya's mind joined with his, and he saw, or felt, every emotion that was racing across her mind. _Anger, betrayal, hatred, hurt, distrust, confusion, sadness, denial, loneliness..._

Loneliness? It mildly surprised the surgeon that loneliness was one of the emotions that crossed her mind. Aya must have felt his bewilderment and confusion as well, because she released her powers and loosened her grip on Law's arm, letting her hand fall to her side.

"I'm sorry," said Aya quietly as Law recovered from their shared link. "I didn't want to do it, but it was the only way I thought of to get you to understand. I don't want to have to do that in such a manner ever again."

Now, normally Law would have been thoroughly pissed that she had invaded his mind without his permission, and he was not planning on letting her simply get away with it, but his memory of her emotions swept that thought to the back of his mind and he settled for dealing with it later. "I an understand the anger and the distrust that you feel, but why were denial and loneliness in there as well?" asked Law.

Aya sat up to look at him. Her eyes were cold, and there was an edge of disappointment under the anger. "What do you think gives you the right to assume that I'd be joining your crew?"

"Well, you're the one running _into_ a wall instead of just taking the path that goes around it, if I may say so," Law replied, sitting back and making himself comfortable on her bed. "I'm offering you a way out. You don't want to take it?"

Aya stopped for a moment; he had a point there. She was asking him for help, so she really didn't have much of a choice to begin with.

"Besides, it wasn't meant for me to show possession of you, it was in order to keep you warm. Coming from North Blue means having lots of warm clothes. I do believe that the sweater served its purpose, did it not?"

Aya nodded in defeat, and grabbed the sweater in surprise as it was tossed in her direction.

"Now, I do believe we never finished our conversation yesterday evening, " continued Law smoothly. "You still haven't told me why I had to knock you out the day before yesterday, or why you aren't suffering right now."

Aya nodded again. "I know. And by the way, may I say that I resent the terms "sorceress" and "mass murderer"? I'm neither of those two."

"Ah, but who was the one who killed several hundred Marines at once the day before yesterday?" reminded Law with a grin.

Aya frowned, but conceded. "Fine. My powers are those of the "Nōri Nōri no Mi," the Mind Fruit. I have the ability to link my mind with the feelings of others. By using "Soul Link," I forcefully invade their minds and take over their bodies. It becomes a two-way street, though, so that they know they're going to die before I kill them. That's how Doflamingo trained me, anyway. Using "Perish Song," I can basically do whatever I want to to kill them. I can make them throw themselves overboard, inhibit their autonomic nervous system to shut down the automatic body functions like heartbeat and breathing, impale them on their own swords using their own hands, and so on and so forth."

"You can take over people's minds at will?"

"Well, not always. If the other person's mind is strong enough, it can become quite a challenge taking them over. I may not succed at all and get rebuffed. If you think about the structure of the Marines, it might make it a bit easier to explain. Ensigns and below are basically walking targets; they're unprepared and weak-willed. Captains are on an even footing. Actually, Luffy is too, come to think. They try to fight, but don't know how. For some reason, though, their unconscious fight is stronger than the lower ranks and it takes a bit longer; maybe it's due to all the years of discipline they've had. You yourself," she paused, allowing herself a little smile, " are at the rank of Admiral. The Admirals and Vice-Admirals are _very_ hard to overtake unless they're caught off guard, like you were."

"So, no going around incapacitating the Fleet Admiral?"

Aya grinned. "Amusing idea, but sadly, no. Fleet Admiral is the equivalent of Yonkou in pirate terms, and I don't even want to think about trying to take any of them over."

Law was rather impressed, although he didn't let it show. "So what happened the day before yesterday?"

Aya shook her head, thinking back. "I made two very rash and impulsive decisions, despite the fact that I know it can be dangerous. One was the distance. The further the distance, the harder the strain is on my body, which took away most of my strength. The other was the multitude of people I took over at once, which was hard because I had to get into their minds in the first place and then keep my hold on them while trying to kill them."

"Why did the pain only come after you had killed them all?"

Aya sighed. "Due to my Devil Fruit, I've become an empath, which gives me the ability to read people's thoughts and emotions. But for a few moments, even after death, that connection remains because the spirit still exists in this material world. Having the thoughts of several hundred vengeful spirits raging around inside my head is something I will _never_ do again," she finished, looking up at Law with determined eyes.

"Duly noted," said Law. "I don't believe I will give you an apology for earlier, since that was your assumption and not my mistake, but since I'm here and you have the sweater that has _my_ Jolly Roger on it, I do have to ask you. Have you decided which way you will go?"

Aya looked down at the sweater in her lap. To be free of Doflamingo, and be hunted the rest of her life with people she might call family? Or to stay with Doflamingo, stay safe and be used as a tool to do her Master's bidding?

"Well, if you put it that way then there's not much of a choice, is there?" she muttered to herself.

"Hmmm?"

"There isn't much to think about," she repeated, raising her voice so that he could hear her. She looked Law in the eyes. "It might take a while for the whole "Captain" thing to sink in, but...yes. If you will become my family, then yes. My mind will be your sword," she said.

Law looked at her. He could tell that she was nervous about simply having his word. Her hands were physically shaking and her breathing was slightly haggard. Her eyes were unfocused as she thought about...well, whatever it was she was thinking about. He respected that, though. He could never imagine becoming someone else's subordinate.

"Good," he replied, watching as she returned to the present time. "Then you can hang on to that sweater," he nodded his head, indicating that which currently sat in her lap, "because if you're going to get onto the submarine unharmed, then you're going to need it."

"The submarine? But the sub is all the way in Zou. It would take at least three days to get there!"

Law nodded. "And that's exactly where you're going."

Aya was about to explode with questions about why she couldn't go with him and complain, but then forced herself to calm down, to not jump to conclusions or make assumptions too quickly like she had done before. "May I know why I am going to Zou ahead of you?" she asked stiffly.

Law inwardly approved of her ability to quickly rein in her emotions and return to logical reasoning. She was learning; he'd have to see just how quickly she learned. "There are two reasons why I'm sending you to Zou," he began. He was about to continue when a cry came from outside.

"ISLAND HO!"

Both Aya and Law looked out the window of the cabin door.

"We're early," Law stated. It was still early afternoon. "Not bad, just unexpected. This could work out for the better, though." He returned his gaze to Aya. "As I was going to say, I have two reasons for you to go to Zou ahead of me. One is so that you are out of the way of Doflamingo. If you were to be found working with us, then he'd kill you right then and there, since you won't be able to overtake him with your Devil Fruit ability. The other reason is because I want you to go work things out with the crew before I get there. I'll leave instructions with you for them before we part ways." What he didn't tell her was that having to put up with his crew for a little over a week was, thirdly, her punishment for the stunt she had pulled earlier.

Aya nodded, the indignation leaving her. "Fair enough. But how will I get there?"

Law grinned at her, but the look in his eyes left her uneasy, which was confirmed then and there.

"You're a pirate now. I'm sure you'll find a way."

* * *

**As always, please review or subscribe (hey, you might get to see your profile name up here!), and thank you for all of the support you've given me!**


	4. Home Is So Very Strange

**I wrote this Author's Note once already, but for some reason it didn't get saved... Anyway, here's another chapter for everybody! The writing might seem kinda rushed or awkward at points, and I sincerely apologize for that, but trying to write longer chapters isn't so easy. If it's awkward at any time, that's probably where I took a break from writing and had to figure out how to keep going.**

**Thanks to Lorraine91, Terikel, kaze senju the wolfwarriorgirl, and Luminence for following this story, to Savage Kill for favoriting it, and to Onepiecelover4ever and Iluvninjas for doing both! Thank you so much, guys!**

** pharoah999: I did get both of the reviews you sent; thank you so very much. Don't worry, things will pick up between Aya and Law once Law returns. I promise I won't make you wait too long! And I'm glad you liked the title of the 3rd chapter; it took a while to come up with.**

** Shiningheart of ThunderClan & 10th Squad 3rd Seat: You two had the _exact same _comment, so I'll respond to you both at the same time, if that's okay. Law has to have some fun, you know! He is a sadistic, possessive Surgeon of Death, after all. Should I keep showing the sadistic side or make him softer and turn it into something...else?**

** Tsukari-chan: I'd want to wear Law's sweater, too! And although Aya's ability may seem to be a bit of a stretch, if I put it in the context that she worked for a Shichibukai who rivals, if not beats, Law in terms of strength/ability, who in turn works for a Yonkou who owns an army of Devil Fruit users, would that still be too much? You've got me thinking, but I don't know...**

* * *

The Ties That Bind Ch 4 - Home Is...So Very Strange

_"Love is white, but friendship has no color so it never changes."_

Kang Ho-dong, _Strong Heart _MC

* * *

"I told you already, _I_ was going to get that first!"

"Yeah, well, you were too slow!"

"Damn it, Shachi, hand that over!"

"No way, are you kidding me? _I'm _the one who bought it!"

The trio walked down the street that led to the harbor, the two men bickering the whole way. Stares were directed at them, or more likely at the polar bear that walked with them, who wisely remained silent as his fellow _homo_ _sapien_ friends continued to fight.

Looking up as the houses fell away to reveal the docks, Bepo turned the corner first, making sure that neither of the two men behind him kept walking until they reached the ocean. Not that he couldn't swim, and nor were either of them Devil Fruit users, but he'd rather not have to go diving in after them, especially while wearing a bright orange- and kinda not-waterproof- boiler suit.

As his eyes fell on the submarine a short distance away, his attention was diverted to an odd irregularity on the submarine's railing. Or rather, the person who sat on said railing.

"Hey Shachi, Penguin."

"For the last time, Penguin, I will not hand it over!" snapped Shachi vehemently. "I bought this fair and square!"

"You know that I had my sight on that, and you snatched it out from under me! Just hand it over already!" snapped Penguin, also pissed.

"Oi, Shachi, Penguin!" repeated Bepo, a bit louder than before.

"WHAT?" they both yelled, turning to look at him.

"I'm sorry!" he replied quickly, hanging his head low. "But someone is sitting on the railing of the submarine," he muttered quickly.

Shachi and Penguin looked up at the sub, seeing the figure for themselves. "So what?" asked Penguin. "Maybe one of the guys needed some fresh air."

"But she doesn't smell like one of the crew members," said Bepo quietly, trying not to get yelled at again.

Both Shachi and Penguin froze. "Not a member of our crew?" repeated Shachi, looking at Penguin.

_"She?"_ Penguin repeated incredulously, looking at Shachi in return.

A dreamy look overtook the two, while Bepo just stared at them confused. A moment later, Shachi and Penguin were seen racing down the road, trying to reach the submarine as fast as they could without tripping over their own feet. Bepo followed behind them, not as anxious to find out who this new person was. She wasn't a bear, after all.

"OIII!" called out Shachi as the pair neared the sub. "Miss, what are you here for?"

"How can we be of service?" echoed Penguin excitedly. They both pulled to a stop just in front of the dock.

The girl looked in the direction of their shouts, her gaze finally landing on the pair below her. With a grin, she pulled of her sweater, revealing a long-sleeved shirt underneath the hoodie. The two men drooled as a sliver of pale skin was shown as the sweater was removed.

She threw it down at them, still smiling. Shachi grabbed it and held it at length, staring at it in apparent shock.

"Encore, encore!" shouted Penguin, dreamily. He received an elbow in the ribs for that from Shachi, making him double over in pain. "Hey, man, what's the big idea?"

Shachi flipped the sweater around in front of Penguin, and Bepo, Shachi, and the girl all watched as the blood drained from Penguin's face. "Why would this girl have Captain's sweater?" asked Shachi, stunned.

"I'm going to need that back," called down the girl. "It's been entrusted to me until the Captain returns!"

Shachi and Penguin turned to stare at the railing girl, who just smiled back at them.

Bepo launched himself into the air over their heads and landed on the deck, growling at this confident, unknown stranger.

She sighed. " I really don't want to fight right now," she said to him. " I've been at sea for four days and haven't eaten for two, so would you mind getting me something to eat from the galley?"

Bepo intended to deliver a flying kick to the girl, but got no further than raising his leg in the air.

_"Soul Link,"_ said the girl calmly, raising a hand in the bear's direction. "Down, boy!"

Bepo froze, unable to move for a good minute, then lowered his leg back to the deck. He continued to watch her, but showed no signs of attacking anymore.

Shachi and Penguin just stared on. "Dude, she just beat Bepo without even touching him!" whispered Shachi, blinking rapidly in amazement once he had recovered.

The pair flinched as the girl turned to them. "Would you mind joining us? I have orders for you guys from Captain Law."

Shachi and Penguin scrambled to get moving, running down the dock to the ladder and quickly climbing up to the deck. As they approached, the girl jumped down from the railing.

"My name's Aya," said the girl calmly. "I'll take the sweater back, if you don't mind."

Shachi handed over the sweater slowly, and in return received an envelope that the girl pulled out of the back of the waistband of her jeans. "These orders are for you, so I have no idea what they say or who they're for. Have fun with them," she stated with a large smile.

What about you?" asked Penguin.

"I'm going to see if I can grab some food from the galley first, and then find a room and settle in," she said confidently. She turned to Bepo. " Would you show me where you all eat your meals?"

Bepo nodded, and beckoned towards the hatch. Opening it, he pulled on the door and beckoned the girl inside, closing it behind them.

Shachi and Penguin were left alone on the deck, staring at the hatch the other pair had just disappeared through. "He's been bewitched, hasn't he?" said Penguin of Bepo and his odd behavior.

Shachi was silent, not having an appropriate response to that comment. He instead turned his attention to the envelope in his hands. Opening it, he pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it, reading what was written there.

_"Aya is your new crewmate. Give her appropriate quarters and provisions. And keep your hands off her, or you'll have an agonizing time until I return; she's a fully trained assassin."_

Shachi finished reading and turned to Penguin, horror clearly etched across his face. Penguin grabbed the letter and read it for himself, looking back at Shachi when he was done.

Shachi suddenly grabbed the letter and ran for the hatch.

"What is it, Shachi?" called Penguin after him, confused.

Shachi stopped in front of the hatch and turned the wheel, opening the door. He looked back at Penguin. "We have to let the others know or they'll die!" he shouted back.

Penguin thought about that for a moment before the realization hit him and he ran after Shachi. "Wait for me!"

Together, the pair zigzagged through the sub until they reached the mess hall. Turning the corner into the room, they stopped short at the sight in front of them.

The girl, Aya, had somehow convinced the chef, Finn, to give her a plate piled high with food, and had sat herself down in the midst of all of the other men who had come for dinner. The surprising bit was that she, and the men immediately around her, were laughing their heads off together, as if she fit right in with them.

Shachi moved first, angling towards Finn who stood with his back to them in front of the sink. "What's going on here?" he asked the cook. Penguin came and stood at his shoulder, looking at the cook for an answer.

Finn turned to them. "Oh, nothing much. She just came here looking for food, and Bepo was yelling his usual about how she was new so she'd have to answer to him. All she did was turn and stare at him and he stopped right then and there! So now that they've sat down the guys are teasing him about being seduced by a woman. Poor Bepo," he finished, looking over at the table with an amused grin.

Penguin gave a little "Hmph!" before making his way to the table, Shachi following close behind. The two found empty places at the table, and Shachi revealed the letter.

"We have new orders," he said loudly, slapping the letter down onto the table.

Whether they had heard him or not, all heads turned to look at the paper on the table. Seeing he had everyone's attention, Shachi continued.

"The girl here is named Aya, and she's our new crewmate. Captain has ordered for her to be given a room and anything else she might need before he returns. He also says to keep your hands off her, as Aya is a fully trained assassin and Captain won't be back for another week. You're on your own if you piss her off!"

The men laughed, but Shachi saw that most of them had understood his warning and would follow it. "Nice to meet you, Aya!" "An assassin? A pretty girl like you? No way!" "Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Aya!"

Aya waited for the comments to die down some before she stood up. "As you know, my name is Aya and I'm an ex-assassin. I'm also a Devil Fruit user, so I can be of use to you all when it comes to fighting, should somebody want to try and dump us all in the ocean. If you want to give me a nickname, then call me Aya or Aya-kun. 'Aya-chan' was a name that I was called by my Master, Doflamingo, and I will not tolerate it here."

Murmers ran around the table at the mention of the other Shichibukai, but Aya ignored them and sat back down, resuming her meal. Everybody watched her for a few minutes, until Finn finally left the sink and sat down at the table as well.

"Glad to see you've got an appetite," he said, sitting down diagonally across from her.

"Yeah, well, when you haven't eaten in two days, pretty much anything will taste good," she replied, tearing a small piece of meat away from the bone.

"Two days?" asked another guy, surprised. "Why not?"

Aya looked up at the him, chewing the piece of meat thoroughly. "Stowaways don't have many options. The crew needs the food to get you where you're going, so you can't take all of it from them, and becoming a cannibal isn't on my to-do list in the near future, so no luck there. Who're you, by the way?"

"Ah, sorry," replied the man. "Name's Tanner, I'm an assistant mechanic. My boss over there," he said, indicating a largely built man in his early forties, "is Mason, and this friend here next to me," he grabbed his friend around the shoulders with one arm, " is my fellow assistant mechanic, Miller."

Mason paused in his meal to acknowledge Aya with a nod and a gruff "Nice to meet'cha," while Tanner's similarly aged friend said nothing and glared daggers at her.

Another pair waved at her from down the table. One was slightly smaller than the other, and one had brown hair while the other was black-haired with the ends dyed blonde. The two looked rather similar, so close that they could easily be seen as brothers.

"My name is Keiji, and my wacky friend here is Akito," said the brown-haired guy with a smile. "It's a pleasure." Akito, occupied with the thought of eating, simply looked up and nodded at her before resuming his meal. "If you don't mind, when you finish eating I would like to ask if you'd stop by the infirmary. We need to know a few things about you, and it's easier if we start now rather than when the Captain returns."

"Speaking of which," Miller interrupted loudly, cutting off any chance for Aya to respond. He turned to her, the glare never leaving his face. "Do you mind telling us where Captain Law might be?"

Aya looked at him, clearly reading the hostility in his words and his eyes. She watched him for a second before taking another chunk of meat from the bone. "He's in Dressrosa, preparing to beat the livin' daylights out of Doflamingo with the Straw-Hats."

The statement brought shouts of joy and good luck from the crew, but Miller wasn't finished.

"And how do we know that?" he asked. "You come into our submarine, seduce our first mate, enjoy our food, and on top of that you have his sweater. How do we know he's not dying on some random island somewhere, huh?!" With that he, spat in Aya's face, catching her on the cheek.

The whole sub went deadly silent.

Aya jerked back in surprise, and then slowly put down the meat bone. Wiping the intruding saliva off using a napkin, she placed that back onto the table as well before standing. "Your captain is currently fighting an enemy stronger than himself in the hopes of making a dream come true. There is a good chance he may not survive the fight with Doflamingo. But if we don't have faith in our captain, then we have no right to call ourselves a member of his crew!" She looked at Miller. "If you don't have faith in Law's abilities, then why are you still a member of his crew?!"

She looked down at her plate, before looking over at the cook. "I'm sorry I couldn't finish your food, Finn. It was delicious; it's just that my appetite has been spoiled."

Finn smiled back at her. "Nah, that's okay. But make sure you come tomorrow morning to get a proper breakfast, you hear me?"

"Why don't you go get situated?" suggested Keiji, watching her. "Come see us tomorrow as well."

Aya returned Finn's smile and nodded to Keiji before looking at Bepo, who had remained quiet throughout the whole exchange. "Can I get someone to show me to my room?"

The polar bear nodded, and motioned to Penguin.

"Come with me," said Penguin, leading the way out of the mess hall.

Aya followed him out of the room and into the corridors of the small sub.

"Sorry about him," said Penguin, nervous. "He doesn't like getting to know new people."

"Well, that makes two of us," said Aya under her breath, releasing a shaky sigh.

"It's much worse because the captain isn't around," continued Penguin, not hearing her. "He feels protected by the captain since he's not much of a fighter, but the captain isn't here to protect him so he doesn't know what to do."

He turned a corner and walked three-quarters of the way down, stopping in front of the doorway. "This will be your room," he said. He motioned to the door on the other side of the hall. "You're right across from the captain's quarters, but no one is allowed in there without his express permission."

Aya nodded, and opened the door to her room. It was a fairly small room, but it was a small submarine after all; no room to be picky. A bed was bolted to the floor on one side, right below a porthole which showed the rainbow colors of the sunset sky on the ocean's horizon. A closet was bolted down on the other side, which stood empty. On the far side if the room was a bathroom, complete with a shower and mirror/counter area.

"It's better than I expected," she told Penguin who still stood in the hallway.

"Good. I'll send Akito down with the bed dressings once he's done eating, and tomorrow someone will come get you for breakfast. I suggest you sit tight until Akito comes; we don't want you getting lost on the sub. Also, take this." He handed her a key. "That key locks the door of your room. All of the doors here have locks, but since it's normally just men here we keep things open. You should keep yours locked at all times if you don't want unwelcome visitors."

"Thanks, Penguin," she said.

Penguin closed the door, and his footsteps receded down the hallway, eventually disappearing out of earshot. Aya sat down on the mattress of her bed and let out a large sigh of relief.

_'Well, looks like that went well. Mostly, anyway. Guess my assassin side comes in handy when making first impressions.'_

She swung herself around and lay down on the bed, linking her hands behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, relaxing, and was soon in a light sleep.

Which was interrupted a while later by a large banging on her door, quickly waking her up again. Moving to the door, she opened it to see Akito there with his arms full of bedsheets and blankets.

"Hey there," he greeted her. "Sorry I didn't say hello before, but for me food tends to come first. I've brought your bed things."

Aya was momentarily stunned by the randomness of Akito's statement about food, but shook it off. "Thanks. Would you mind just putting them on the bed?"

"Sure thing," he replied. Aya remained by the door as Akito walked over to the bed and dumped the contents in his arms onto it.

"You and Keiji-san look really alike," said Aya as he walked back to the door. "Are you two related?"

Akito grinned. "Nope. But that's something we hear a lot. Keiji and I have been best friends since before we joined Law's crew, and we're more like adopted brothers than real brothers. Oh, and by the way, the only two people who we use honorifics for are Mason, because he's older than the rest of us, and the captain, obviously. No _-san _required for the rest of us." He winked at her and walked away.

Aya stared after him, wondering what on earth she had suddenly gotten herself into.


	5. The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

**Here's another chapter for everyone! I hope I didn't make you wait too long, but hammering out this chapter was really hard. I had to ditch my original idea ****and push it back until later, which left me with nothing for this chapter, so I took the liberty of more time coming up with this chapter since it deals with the crew a bit more. I hope you'll enjoy it, and look forward to some interesting happenings in the next chapter!**

**Thanks as always to Yukina21 for following, and to Wings-chan, CathyX1 and DevilSurvivor for both following and favoriting this story!**

** Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Law wants Aya to get along with the crew, not terrorize them! Although, it would be really fun to do as an omake. Hmmm...let me plan this out a bit more...**

** Wings-chan: Don't you worry, Law's not far away at all. Whether or not he'll return _safely..._well, let's just say it should be rather interesting.  
**

** 10th Squad 3rd Seat: Yay! The fact that you don't like him is exactly what I want! He's going to be my sacrificial lamb, in a sense, so if you don't like him then can I assume you're okay with that?**

**Savage Kill: I only hope that it gets more interesting for you as the story goes on. If it gets boring please say so, or else I'll be in trouble...**

* * *

The Ties That Bind, Ch 5 - The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

_"If friendship is your weakest point, then you are the strongest person in the world."_

- Abraham Lincoln

* * *

_The trees and houses, engulfed in bright yellow flames that danced as they reached for the bright morning sky. _

_People running away, as orange and red scars latticed across their skin like tattoos. _

_Thick, airless smoke rising up above the island before being taken by the wind to places unknown. _

_Animals crying out in fear as they sensed Death's approach and tried to escape._

_She ran through the village, trying to block her mind against the sights, sounds, and smells that inevitably burned themselves into her mind. Shouya. She had to find Shouya or else Riku would be gone, too. Shouya was the only one who could save him._

_And suddenly, he stood in front of her. He was taller than she remembered, and the coat that he wore was certainly not one that she recognized, but she'd know that short, spiky mess of brown hair anywhere._

_"Onii-chan! Onii-chan! Shouya-nii-chan! You have to come with me, Riku-onii-chan's trapped in the fire! I can't get him out!"_

_The large figure in front of her turned around to look at her, and her eldest brother's face leered back at her. "Aw, what a shame! Poor Iruka-chan, you can't do anything by yourself, can you? I know, why don't we go back and watch as Riku burns? It would be interesting, don't you think, Iruka? We can see how long it takes him to turn black!"_

_She stared at him, shock and horror in her face as her imagination painted the image of her other brother being burned alive. She slowly backed away from Shouya, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to block out the image._

_"No one's going to help you, Aya-chan," said a deeper, and much colder voice._

_She opened her eyes at the sound of the voice and watched, frozen, as her brother's face twisted and distorted, only to be replaced with Doflamingo's. The scenery also changed, being replaced by a small stone cell with a solid-iron door. The only light came from the doorway, which stood slightly ajar. Doflamingo leaned against it, blocking any escape._

_"No one's going to come for you, you know," Doflamingo stated with a smile on his face. "And since you are here, I'm going to make very good use of you. How about being an assassin? That way you can stay in the shadows, where you belong!"_

_She shook her head and clamped her hands over her ears. "No, don't!"_

_The Shichibukai grinned. He stood away from the door and gave it a shove, pushing it closed with a loud bang. A jingling sound moments later and a solid thud told her that the bolt had fallen, locking the two of them inside together._

_"Don't let me catch you, little kitty," said Doflamingo, the grin never leaving his face. He stretched his hands towards her and took slow paces towards her. "If I do, then I will break you body, mind, and soul!"_

_She watched as the man drew closer, unable to move her body to get away from this danger. He moved agonizingly slowly, enjoying the fact that she was paralyzed with fear. Her body started shaking._

_He was soon right on top of her, the oversized grin bearing down on her. He grabbed her arms, lifting her off the ground._

_"No...don't...!"_

_"Tell me, kitty, which should I break first?"_

_"No, don't! Please!"_

"DON'T!"

"Oi, Aya! Wake up! Come on, wake up already!"

Her eyes snapped open as she woke with a gasp, body trembling under the blanket.

A black-and-blonde-trimmed face hovered above her, eyes full of worry and desperation. Upon seeing her awake, it quickly retreated. The light of the room shone in her eyes, making her squint a bit at the harshness.

Trying to get oxygen into her body properly again, she sat up against the headboard of her bed, pulling the blanket with her.

"Aya?" came a shaky voice from the side.

Instinctively shrinking away from the direction that the voice had come from, Aya turned to see Keiji and a timid Akito staring at her. Fear whispered inside her head, even though she didn't know why she was afraid in the first place.

Keiji saw the fear in her eyes; was she having a panic attack? He crouched down in order to be on eye level with her. "Aya, can you hear me?" he asked softly.

She looked at him directly, and Keiji looked down slightly, not staring at her directly. "Can you hear me?" he repeated.

She nodded slowly, and Keiji gave an inward sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to try to pull her out of whatever nightmare she had been in. "That's good. Aya, do you remember my name?"

She nodded again. "...Keiji," she whispered slowly.

Keiji nodded in return. "That's very good, Aya. Now, do you remember who sent you here?"

Another nod. "...Law." Suddenly, her eyes cleared a bit. "Law...he...he promised..."

Keiji, confused as he was by that, took his chance. "That's right, Aya. He promised. We aren't going to hurt you; we want you to feel better."

Keiji paused, allowing Aya to process what he had just said in addition to her own thoughts. He was rewarded with a firm nod from her. He reached out his hands, palms up. "Will you come here?"

"Oi, Keiji!" hissed Akito quietly.

Keiji ignored him. It was a risky move, asking for her trust. At best, she would accept and he could calm her down enough to return her to reality. At worst, her fear would win her over and she would lash out at him with the intent to kill. He focused on her, waiting to see what she would do.

Slowly, painfully slowly, Aya reached out a hand. Keiji didn't move, and so she had to lean forward for her arm to reach his hand. She tentatively touched his hand and fliched back, clearly expecting some form of repercussion, but neither Keiji nor Akito moved at the contact. Wary still, her hand slowly proceeded forward again until it rested lightly in Keiji's.

"Thank you, Aya," said Keiji softly, smiling at her. He used his thumb to create small circles on the back of her hand. He focused on it for a few minutes, then looked up to see Aya staring back down at him. The fear was gone; the emotion that replaced it was...apprehension, perhaps. Offering her his empty hand, he watched as she placed it in his. There was no recoiling, no fear. Her trembling had stopped as well. He caressed that hand as well, taking his time and relaxing.

Minutes passed by and Keiji continued to make circles, until he heard her voice.

"...Keiji?"

He looked up to see Aya, eyes clear and fright gone, staring back at him.

"Welcome back," he said with a bright smile.

"...Thanks. And...I'm sorry."

Keiji released her hands, opting to stand and envelop her in a hug instead. "Don't apologize; that's what I'm here for."

Aya returned his embrace, absorbing his warmth and taking comfort in it. "So much for that clean bill of health you gave me yesterday, huh?"

Keiji released her (a bit too soon for Aya's liking) and looked at her. "We all have our own demons that we fight with, Aya. You can run for a lifetime, but it'll still be faced eventually. Even Akito and I have to fight them. But you know, it becomes easier to fight if you share that burden with others."

Aya nodded, but Keiji could see in her eyes that she didn't believe him. "Thanks."

"Anytime. I suggest you make your way to the mess hall; it's nearly lunch and Finn should be done cooking soon."

Aya looked out the porthole. Indeed, the sun was high in the sky. "How long was I asleep for?" she asked quietly.

Keiji looked at Akito, who looked down at his feet. "You were still asleep at breakfast time, so I let you sleep, but I've been trying to wake you for over half an hour."

Aya's stomach suddenly rumbled, leading Aya, Keiji, and Akito to stare at it in surprise."I guess it's a good thing I'm hungry then," she said with a small grin that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Keiji smiled at her. "Go eat. Doctor's orders."

Aya left the room quickly, led by her growling stomach and the need to escape the emotional intensity of her room. Keiji and Akito watched her go.

When she was out of earshot, Akito turned to Keiji. "Wow. That was...different. How did you know what to do when she panicked?"

"Experience," replied Keiji simply. He didn't tell Akito, but there had been more than one occasion in the past where he had done just that in order to get Akito to return to reality as well. "Would you mind telling Finn to save me some food? I'm going to be late to lunch."

"All right, I'll head down there now. See you later, Keiji." Akito walked out of the room, following Aya's path down to the mess hall.

With a large sigh, Keiji walked out of the room and down to the infirmary. Walking over to a drawer in his desk, he opened it and pulled out the file inside. Aya's information was displayed for him. Honestly, looking at all of the physical aspects of her it would seem as though nothing was wrong with her, although she was a bit underweight. As small as she was, not even reaching five feet in height, malnourishment was something she could not afford.

Keiji looked over his notes, filing away information in his mind as well as he recalled their conversation from the day before.

_"Age?"_

_"Twenty-one."_

_"Eye color?"_

_"As blue as blue can get."_

_"Any allergies?" he asked._

_"Possibly amoxicillin," she replied, clearly resisting the urge to spin in the chair she was currently sitting on._

_"Possibly?"_

_"I was never tested for it, but certain medicines back home gave me rashes and hives so I was told to stop getting those and use other medicines that don't have amoxicillin in it. Since then, there's been no problem with any medicines and I haven't crossed paths with amoxicillin either."_

_He jotted it down in the file, noting in it that maybe she could be tested at a later date._

_"Diseases?"_

_"Not a disease, but rather a syndrome. TRP Syndrome, or just TRPS. It affects my bones and my appearance. My mother had it as well."_

_He added this information to the file, along with the notes "research" and "genetic?"_

_"Height?"_

_"Um...you know, I actually don't know. Just that I'm pretty small."_

_"Weight?"_

_"Don't know that either."_

_"Well then, let's find out," suggested Keiji. "Come stand on the scale, please."_

_He followed as Aya stood and moved over to the scale. Removing her cloth shoes, she stepped on the scale, wincing. "It's cold," she commented._

_"Sorry about that," he replied. "Now, just stay still for a few seconds while it calculates your weight."_

_Silence fell between them as they awaited the scale's judgement. The numbers spiraled around for a moment before settling on three numbers._

_"One hundred and ten, huh?" said Keiji. "Not bad at all."_

_Aya stepped down from the scales and reached for her shoes, but Keiji stopped her. "One moment, please. Would you stand against the door? I need to get your height, but your soles will throw off the numbers."_

_"The door?"_

_Keiji nodded. "There's a ruler attached to the door that you don't see when the door's closed."_

_Going over and puling open the door, Aya saw that there was indeed a paper ruler that ran up the side of the door except for where the latch was bolted in. "That's pretty cool," she said to Keiji._

_He grinned at her. "Glad you like it. Now, if you would please put your feet together, straighten your back, and square your shoulders."_

_Aya complied, and Keiji looked at the ruler. "Can I borrow one of your knives, Aya?"_

_"What for?"_

_"A flat blade gives more accurate measurements, and my scalpels are currently on the other side of the room, locked in a drawer."_

_"Oh, sure." Aya flicked her arm in a downwards motion, and a blade came sliding down from inside her sleeve until the hilt rested in her palm. She handed it to him, trying to move as little as possible._

_Keiji stared at the knife, Aya's sleeve, and then at Aya before chuckling and returning his attention to the ruler. He placed the flat of the blade against the top of her head and slid it backwards until the point came into contact with the door. Turning it sideways, the blade now rested firmly against his ruler._

_Aya tensed under him and he paused. Not moving the knife from its spot, he took a small step back to look at her face. He was surprised to see Aya's face pale and it looked as if she was putting all of her will into not fleeing, instead choosing to stay put and sense what he would do._

_"Aya, you can step away from the door now," he said, trying to get her to relax. "Sorry if I nicked a few hairs."_

_Letting out a sigh of relief, she swiftly moved away from the door and turned to look at her knife, which still rested against the ruler._

_Seeing that she was out of the way, Keiji turned his attention back to the blade and swiftly cut across the door, slicing the ruler and notching the door. "And the verdict is...four feet, ten inches and a quarter!" he announced with a smile._

_"Damn, still not five feet," replied Aya jokingly with a smile of her own, taking back the knife from Keiji and sliding it back into her sleeve._

_"Well, keep drinking milk then," suggested Keiji with a grin._

_Aya made a sour face. "I don't think that milk can help me anymore; my growth spurts are pretty much over."_

_Keiji nodded. "Hate to agree with you, but that's true. It's only downhill from here on."_

_"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically._

_Smiling, he gestured for her to sit down in the chair again. He sat across from her and looked down at all of his notes. "Well, the only thing right now is that you're a bit underweight; probably from not eating while you were traveling. I'll ask Finn if he'd be willing to put you on a diet so that you could put on a bit more weight."_

_"I always thought that diets were for losing weight, and here I am trying to gain weight," said Aya, barely audible._

_Keiji closed the file. "Other than that, you're completely healthy and are good to go. At some point I'll ask one of the guys to help you test your powers and skills around the submarine so that both you and I know where you stand in terms of combat readiness and usefulness."_

_Aya stood. "Thanks, Keiji!" She walked out the door, closing it behind her._

Keiji added her nightmare and her panic attack to the notes in the file, and then closed the file. He stared at it for a moment before putting it back in the drawer and locking the drawer shut.

"Where are you, Captain?" he asked quietly, looking out the infirmary porthole at the ocean. "We really need you now."

* * *

Aya sat at one of the empty tables of the mess hall with her tray of "diet food," looking down at it and staring sullenly at the pile of food it consisted of. Mostly dark meats took up most of the space, while vegetables and bread had been quarantined off to one corner and an apple in the other.

She picked up the apple first, biting in with her front teeth and peeling away a piece. It was a hard apple, which made the first bite hard, but it was slightly sour which filled her mouth with flavor. She continued to dig into the appetite, her appetite growing as she realized that she really was hungry. Of course, sleeping for nearly twelve hours and witnessing a nightmare would make anybody hungry, she supposed. But what raced through her mind even as she ate was the faces that she had seen.

Keiji's face, full of surprise and wary suspicion. And Akito's face, full of fear and confusion. The two similar faces reflected different emotions, ones she hoped would never appear again. Keiji had been quick to recover from his shock, but Akito...Akito probably didn't know what to make of her now.

Not only that, but they had seen _her_. They had seen her true form, which she had tried to bury for so long. That childish side, which was weak and incapable of functioning properly. The side which would ruin her, if she wasn't careful.

Placing the apple core back in the corner of the tray, she made quick work of the vegetables before turning to the mound of meat that faced her. Pursing her lips as she weighed her options, she turned to Finn, who was finishing cooking lunch for the rest of the crew.

"Finn, would you happen to have any ketchup?"

With a smile, Finn moved over to the refridgerator and opened it, pulling out the ketchup bottle. He tossed it over his shoulder. "Here you go."

"Thanks," she replied, catching the plastic bottle gently in both hands. She didn't want to splatter ketchup all over Finn's now-clean mess hall. Turning back to her tray, she opened the cap and poured out a generous amount before closing it and placing it on the table next to her tray.

Akito walked into the mess hall just as she began attacking the meat. "Finn, Keiji asks if you can save him some lunch. He'll be a few minutes late."

"Sure thing," replied the cook. He scooped some of the soup from the pot into a separate bowl and placed it next to the sink, out of the reach of the other crew members who would no doubt just take it if they could.

"Thanks." His job done, Akito made his way over to where Aya sat and took the bench across from her. "Hey there."

"Hey there yourself," Aya replied after swallowing a rather tough piece of meat.

Akito watched her as she continued to eat, unsure of what to say.

"Are you afraid of me now, Akito?" asked Aya quietly, putting down her utensils. Her throat was protesting the rate at which she had been eating, and so she decided to slow down and take a break for a few minutes. She didn't look at him, afraid of his answer, and focused instead on her hands, which were now in her lap under the table.

"Well, you certainly surprised me," said Akito hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. "To be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of it. I'm still not sure."

Aya winced. So he was scared of her after all. And not without good reason, too. The nightmares were something that she had had to deal with, but her not waking up must have been pretty scary too. Not only that, but he had seen a completely different person than the one he had quickly befriended, despite the fact that the bodies and voices were the same.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was that?" inquired Akito nervously.

Aya took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "That was a nightmare created from my memories. Some of it is real, and some of it isn't."

She watched as Akito tried to make sense of it. Should she tell him more?

Akito looked at her and smiled. "Well then, it's a good thing I came when I did. Wouldn't want you stuck in a nightmare any longer than neccessary."

Aya stared at him. "Huh?"

Akito looked back at her. "Don't go deaf on me now. It's better for you to be here where we can help you, rather than stuck on your own. I really don't know why you were having such a nightmare, and it's not my place to know, either. But you're my crewmate. Moreover, you're my new friend. Therefore, you and I should trust and help each other, right?"

Aya studied him for a moment before smiling at him. "Yeah, you're right."

Finn, who had been listening in on their short conversation, walked over to the table and clapped Akito on the back. "Friends all around, huh?" he said with a smile.

Aya looked up at the cook. Finn's eyes closed when he smiled, but when they were open they were always friendly and warm, a likeness of which Aya had not yet seen in the other crew members.

"What's up, Finn?" asked Akito.

"Oh, just that the rest of the crew should be coming around, and I thought that Aya would want to make an escape before Miller arrives so that she doesn't end up getting your hands bloody."

Aya looked between Akito and Finn before abrubtly standing up and running for the doorway, nearly stumbling over herself. There she stopped and looked behind her at the two men. "Thanks, guys," she said before running around the corner and out of sight.

Finn sighed. " Someday I'll get to crack that kid over the head," he said wistfully.

Akito looked at him in shock. " Aya?"

Finn shook his head. "No, brat, not Aya. Miller."

"Just leave him. When Captain Law returns, he's dead meat anyway."

"...That might be even more interesting."

Akito looked up at the normally docile cook with wonder. "You feeling alright?"

"Never better."

"Mhm. Just checking."

* * *

**Just as a sidenote for everybody, from this point on the story will not be keeping with the manga. If I were to follow the manga, then I'd have to wait for the conclusion of the Dressrosa arc, which is way to long for me and for all you readers to wait. I may still refer to events in the manga, but now it is time for this bird to leave the nest.**


	6. The Devils You Know

**My muse has been flooding me with ideas, so here's another chapter for you all! If only I could always write chapters this quickly...but I do have to warn you all that this chapter is both provocative and bloody. Because the chapter is so long, I've decided to split it into two separate chapters; this half is already longer than any of the previous five chapters without including this Author's Note! Also, did anyone notice a discrepancy in the last chapter? If Aya left her island at the age of twelve and has been with Doflamingo for over four years, there is no way she is even over eighteen! That's what happens when you stop celebrating birthdays...**

**Once again, my deepest thanks to Velonica14 for following this story, and to Kongo Isamu and Szynka2496 for favoriting it.**

**Savage Kill: I know, right? Although, I haven't had a bad one in a while, and Aya's case is rather severe...**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: Well I myself will accept free hugs anytime, but if you want to offer them to others you should also offer free handshakes; not everybody's comfortable with that level of intimacy. And I like being a hater sometimes, too. It's my way of releasing my stress and any violent tendencies that may come to mind. Would you mind greatly if I asked you to send me a PM?**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: You were actually pretty close! The whole village being on fire wasn't real, but she is does know that a fire ruined her home. Her brothers, Shouya and Riku, are also real, but Riku wasn't trapped in the house when the fire broke out. And that whole deal with Doflamingo is real, too.**

**Pharoah999: I believe this chapter fulfills half of that request, the other half will come later.**

**Velonica14: I got all three of your reviews, thank you so much! I'm glad to know that you liked Akito and Finn's moment. But for some reason Finn is becoming rather effeminate...And yes, Miller is most definitely in deep s*** now.**

* * *

The Ties That Bind, Ch 6 - The Devils You Know

_"When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them."_

_- _George Bernard Shaw

* * *

Unfortunately for Aya, the next three days had mainly consisted of constantly avoiding Miller, who had apparently figured out that he was _being_ avoided and took it upon himself to hunt her down just to throw insults and try to annoy her. More than once she had just barely slipped through his fingers thanks to either another crewmate's presence or, more often, Finn and his threatening ladles.

Which was why Aya had, for the past few hours, been sitting on a railing in the engine room, watching Tanner check the boiler's gauges every so often and chatting with him while Mason fiddled with the engine below them.

Tanner turned to Aya and saw that she had spaced out. He grinned, visualizing smoke coming out of her ears as her thoughts raced around.

"Wakey wakey, Aya," he called.

Aya turned to look at him, confused. "What?"

"I said, "wakey wakey." Don't think so hard. I don't want to have to find a replacement brain for you; it's hard enough keeping up with this baby," he said, banging his wrench against the boiler plating. "You were thinking so hard there was smoke coming out of your ears."

Aya frowned at him. "Seriously, Tanner? You're like a five year old."

Tanner held up his hands in mock surrender. "Old in age but young at heart, you know? Anyway, what are you thinking so hard about?"

Aya's frown deepened and her face darkened slightly. "Miller."

Realization dawned on Tanner's face. "Ah...that would do it. He's been going after you for the past few days, hasn't he?"

Aya nodded. "Seriously, what's his problem with me? I haven't done anything to him or to you guys, and I haven't done anything to Law either. Why does he hate me so much?"

Tanner wiped the grease from his hands onto a towel before picking up the clipboard that hung from the railing beside the boiler, the same railing that Aya was sitting on two feet away. "I don't know, to be honest. I've known Miller for three years, since he was here before me and I joined the crew after him. I like to think I know him pretty well, which is why I call him a friend. Law, Bepo, Keiji, Akito, Mason and Finn were already here too. He wasn't this mean to me or the others. I mean, he did go after Jean Bart two years ago when the guy first joined, but that was only because he wanted to see if Jean Bart was going to challenge Law's authority, being a former captain and everything. And he certainly didn't harp on him for more than three days."

A lightbulb went off in Aya's head, but she wasn't positive. "Law, Bepo, Keiji, Akito, Finn, Mason..." She went through the crew roster before realizing that she was indeed correct. "It's because I'm a girl, isn't it?" she said to Tanner, who was facing away from her.

Tanner, recording the numbers the gauges were showing, paused in his writing and turned to face her. He thought for a moment before answering. "You think? I mean, it is definitely a possibility, but what would you being a female have to do with anything?"

Aya sighed. " I don't know. Honestly, I want to use my ability on him or stick a knife in between his ribs, but I'm trying to refrain from doing that until Law returns. He won't take kindly the fact that his newest crew member stabbed a fellow crewmate at the end of her first week."

Tanner laughed. "No, probably not. But then, why are you trying to hide down here? He'll return eventually."

Aya flashed a grin of her own. "He'll come back, but he won't expect me to be here, hiding in his sanctuary."

"Hiding under his nose?"

"Well, it's hide here, hide with Finn, or hide in my own room, but Finn is only in the kitchen around mealtimes."

"What about your room?"

Aya looked down at the metal catwalk which separated the two levels of the engine room. "It's too lonely in there, and there's not much space," she quietly.

Tanner smiled and was about to respond when a large _bang_ resounded through the engine room like cannon fire, originating from the lower level. It vibrated through the room and was loud to the degree that it startled Aya, prompting her to jump off the railing and back onto the catwalk. She and Tanner looked at each other before they both leaned over the railing.

"Are you alright, Mason-san?" called down Tanner, worried since Mason wasn't in sight.

Silence.

"...Mason-san?" echoed Aya.

" ...Fine," came the gruff voice from underneath them, slightly strained.

Aya breathed out a sigh of relief. Straightening, she saw a similar look of relief on Tanner's face.

Tanner let out a sigh of his own and turned to Aya. "You'd better scram; the whole sub probably heard that. Miller will be coming back."

"Yeah, thanks." With a nod, she turned and made her way back to the door which led to the main hallway.

"Come back anytime!" called Tanner after her, smiling.

Acknowledging him with a wave of her hand, Aya closed the engine room door behind her. Instantly, the temperature dropped almost ten degrees, and Aya shivered from the rapid change in temperature. The engine room was always hotter than the rest of the sub, and it made her wonder how they could work in such heavy boiler suits.

Turning in the direction of her room, she froze, and she could have swore that the temperature dropped even further.

Miller stood in the middle of the hallway, chest heaving. It became evident that the crew had heard the explosion after all, and Miller had come running in case something had gone wrong.

His eyes narrowed, and he charged at Aya. Ducking under him, she was thrown into the wall by the leg that Miller had thrown behind him as he twisted around. A moment later, his arm was across her throat, pinning her to the metal wall.

Of course, Aya wasn't totally unprepared for something like that. What Miller failed to notice was the knife that had appeared from her sleeve which now rested in her hand, the point only an inch away from Miller's stomach.

Aya closed her eyes as Miller's rage-filled thoughts flowed through her head, but she forced herself to not show any emotion towards Miller. He was not allowed to see her weaknesses until he repayed her by begging for his life.

Miller snarled. "So, what'd you do, bitch? Kill Tanner? Blow a hole in the boiler? Jam the motor?"

Aya looked at him coolly, allowing her assassin side to take over. "I haven't done anything, asshole, and I'm rather tired of you breathing down my neck. Move off, if you please."

Miller smirked and stepped forward, shoving a leg between Aya's and lifting her off the ground slightly. "How's that? You like this, slut? You asked me to move, after all." He leaned forwards, coming to a stop as the point of Aya's knife finally touched his stomach. Looking down at it, he growled.

_Well, damn it._ Aya stared at him, her patience over the last few days nearing a breaking point. "As I said before, move off, if you please." Her eyes never left his, even as she registered another presence nearing them. She payed it no attention, not caring who it was at the moment; she had a bigger fish to fry.

Miller only leaned in, evidently not caring as Aya's knife broke through his skin. "What's the matter? You don't want this, slut? Come on, entertain me a little! You are a bitch, after all. Why not act like one, huh?"

Aya sighed, and at the same time, she was at her rope's end. Taking all of her frustration and turning it into dark intent, she shifted her grip on the knife, intending to drive it into Miller's gut, when a hand grabbed her wrist in a death grip and stopped her from following through. Simultaneously, Miller was pulled away from her and thrown into the opposite wall next to the engine room door with extreme force, leaving the smallest of dents where his head made contact.

Aya, shocked by the amount of force with which Miller was removed, turned to her savior and finally took in the identity of the third person. She sighed in relief and was going to thank him, but he turned away from her and focused his attention on Miller, who was just as surprised as she was.

"I heard from Finn that you were causing trouble," he said in a low voice. Miller visibly flinched, and Aya didn't blame him; the deep-voiced words were laced with hot fury. "Looks like I found the source. Would you mind telling me what is going on here, Miller?"

Miller could only open and close his mouth like a fish out of water, evidently too scared to do anything other than continue to try and keep his body functioning. His legs failing him, he slid down the wall onto the floor.

"You're pathetic," rumbled Jean Bart, looking down at Miller with derision. He turned to Aya, forsaking the petrified man. "Are you alright?" asked Jean Bart in his low voice.

Aya nodded, calming her slightly shaken mind. "Thanks to you. You're Jean Bart, right? I've seen you at meals all week, but haven't had a chance to talk to you yet." She extended a hand, and Jean Bart gently enveloped it in his own, shaking it.

"Because of him?" asked Jean Bart, looking at Miller.

Aya shrugged. "Partly. The other part is that I didn't know if you were busy and didn't want to bother you."

Jean Bart let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Busy? I'm as far from busy as can be. Until Captain Law returns, we aren't going anywhere."

"He should be back soon, right?"

Jean Bart grinned. "Actually, we're expecting him back tonight, if all goes well."

Inwardly, Aya was relieved. However, she kept her voice level as she responded to him. "That's good to hear."

"And you can be sure that he'll be hearing about this," said Jean Bart with menace, turning to Miller. "I'll let him deal with you; he'll know what to do. Get out of my sight before I change my mind."

Miller scrambled to get his legs underneath him, retreating into the engine room as quickly as he could. Aya and Jean Bart watched him go.

"Asshole," repeated Aya derisively.

"Why didn't you fight back sooner?" asked Jean Bart, looking down at her with concern.

"As I told Tanner, I'd rather not have the captain hear that his newest crew member stabbed a fellow crewmate within her first week." She held up the knife in her hand, examining the blood that slid down from the point of the blade towards the hilt. "Although I must admit, that was a close call." Wiping off the blood on her jeans, she replaced the knife back inside her sleeve.

She then looked down as the blood soaked into her pants, and swore lightly. "Of all days, it has to be when I'm wearing new clothes, too..."

Jean Bart looked at her with sympathy. "At least you aren't hurt. Captain would have to have Keiji keep him and Akito from strangling Miller."

Aya looked at him in surprise."Why?"

"Captain Law expects this kind of behavior from new recruits," he explained. "But to see it coming from Miller, who has been here for years, it's an insult to the crew and shames the captain. I'm pretty sure you've noticed, but Law expects respect and obedience; this applies not just to himself, but for each of us towards each other. And Akito...well, he's a hot-headed lad, so his short fuse can ignite pretty quickly."

Aya nodded; Akito and Keiji had gotten into a pretty heated fight over something apparently rather trivial the day after her nightmare episode, and she had seen the younger storming off to the crew's quarters, slamming the door behind him. "Speaking of hurt," she mentioned, her thoughts going back to Miller, "are you sure that Miller will be okay? He seemed to hit the wall pretty hard; there's even a dent!"

Jean Bart shook his head. "Don't worry about him, he's had worse from what Keiji has told me."

Aya snorted, observing the dented wall. "You'd think that, being a pirate, your actions would only piss him off more instead of making him wet himself." She looked at Jean Bart. "I'm going to head back to my room for a while. Would you send someone if the captain returns before dinner?"

Jean Bart smiled and nodded, and Aya left the large man to himself. She walked back through the halls to her room, congratulating herself upon arriving for finally not getting lost along the way. Turning the key in the lock, she closed the door and locked it behind her.

Throwing herself onto the bed, she finally allowed herself to relax, loosening her muscles as she stared at the ceiling. Exhaling strongly, she flipped herself over and reached under her pillow, pulling out a new journal. Opening it to where the page-holder was inserted into the binding, she reached back under the pillow and pulled out the pen underneath.

_Oh, Gods help me, I HATE that man...he's like a caged animal. Once again, I have been incessantly hunted down by the man behind the mask. What is this, the fourth day now? And it's not like I've done anything wrong! I've never hurt the guy (well, until today), and I've never used my ability on him. Maybe I should; but I still don't know if that would be enough to get him to leave me alone. I feel like I'm being hunted. Is it because I'm a girl or because of my background as an assassin? Honestly, if he's being an asshole because of my gender then he better pray that he straightens his act out before they ever run into Boa Hancock again. Or maybe it's because I'm new and I'm a girl? Gender-based hazing of the newbie? That seems to fit better. At least the others are being nice and keeping me away from him. If it weren't for them I probably would have killed him by now. Finn...Akito...Keiji...Tanner...Jean Bart...thanks, guys. And where does Finn disappear to whenever he's not in the kitchen? It must be a great escape since I haven't found it yet. Speaking of which, I finally made it back to my room without any wrong turns! Seriously, though, these walls need to have markers on them or something..._

Grinning in spite of herself, she closed her journal and replaced the journal and pen back under the pillow. Grabbing a new set of clothes, she walked into the bathroom, intent on taking a shower to wash out the smell of blood.

* * *

Walking up onto the deck, he frowned. The lookout wasn't here; Finn must have called everyone inside for dinner. Opening the hatch with one hand since his other was carrying his nodachi, he pulled it open and stepped inside, pulling it closed behind him and locking it again.

Walking down the endless maze of hallways towards the mess hall, he stopped just outside the doorway to observe.

Everyone was sitting, laughing and chatting while they ate. Actually, almost everybody. He noted the absence of his only female crew member, but pushed it away as he locked eyes with Keiji, who sat on the opposite side of the room facing the doorway. He motioned with a finger, and Keiji gave a slight nod. Retreating back around the corner, he waited for Keiji to join him, tapping a finger on the sheath of the nodachi.

Moments later, the assistant walked out of the mess hall and stood against the wall opposite Law.

"Welcome back, Captain. Not going to say hello to the others?" asked Keiji quietly.

Law shook his head. "Not yet. I need your help changing my bandages first."

He saw Keiji's eyes widen in alarm at the mention of bandages, but ignored it in favor of turning towards the infirmary. Keiji walked behind him silently until they got there.

Closing the door behind him once they reached it, Keiji turned to look at Law who had already taken a seat and placed his nodachi against the wall. "Was it that bad?"

Law looked at Keiji. "An Admiral tipped the scales a bit, so it wasn't as smooth as I had hoped, but the job got done in the end."

Keiji was clearly surprised. "An Admiral?"

"A new Admiral, Fujitora was there; it was a two on one. Ended up losing my nodachi for a while and got shot three times."

Keiji just stared at his captain as he talked. If it weren't for the hard, grey eyes, Law could have been talking about the weather for all he knew. He turned his attention to Law's torso as Law removed his shirt; it was entirely covered in bandages.

Reaching around and untying the knot in the back, Keiji gently unwound the bloodstained bandages he had just released. He was pleased to see that the captain's wounds, however severe they had been, were healing nicely.

"Well, I'm impressed," said Keiji as Law's torso was completely revealed. "Who helped you?"

"Straw-Hat's reindeer," replied Law.

"Sorry, come again? I could have sworn you said Straw-Hat's _reindeer_ helped you recover."

"I did."

"That kid's as strange as ever," Keiji commented as he pulled out fresh bandages. "But he certainly has a good doctor. With any luck, these wounds won't even scar."

"Keiji, I'm pretty sure that I have another crew member," Law stated, thoughts returning to his female crew member as Keiji began wrapping the bandages. "Why isn't Aya eating with the rest of you?"

"Oh, that? She's taken to eating before we do for quite some time now, because she's avoiding being annoyed by Miller. I don't know why, but he really doesn't like her. He has been...I guess the proper word is hunting, for her for most of the past week. Finn and I have been trying to keep the two of them apart, but just this afternoon Jean Bart had to pull Miller off of her outside the engine room." Keiji finished off the bandages with a knot that rested on the inside of Law's shoulder blade, out of reach.

Law's eyes narrowed; he didn't like what he had just heard. "Where is she now?"

"Probably in her room; she's bored with nothing to do."

"Good. Come with me." Forsaking his shirt since he was wrapped in bandages, he walked out of the informary and headed back towards the mess hall. Keiji unlocked one of the drawers and pulled out a file before closing it and following his captain.

Instead of trying to stay overtly hidden this time, Law simply leaned against the open doorway and waited.

Finn, of course, was quick to notice. "Welcome back, Captain Law," he said with a smile.

The sub went quiet as everyone followed Finn's gaze to the doorway in which he stood. Moments later, cheers and shouts rang through the submarine as they welcomed him back.

Unfortunately, Law wasn't in the mood for celebrating just yet. As the shouts died down, he sought out the people he was looking for. "Miller. Finn. Tanner. Jean Bart. You four, stay here. The rest of you, _get out._"

The crew froze before scrambling to follow his command, Law relinquishing his nodachi to Bepo as the polar bear passed him. Law entered the mess hall and took a seat at the head of one of the tables, feeling Keiji following behind him. The other four selected men moved from their respective tables to gather around the table, waiting to see what their captain wanted from them.

Law leaned back a bit, getting comfortable. "I haven't been back for more than a few minutes and already I hear of trouble. I'm going to verify how much of it is the truth, and then I will decide what to do with those involved. Now for starters, why isn't your newest crewmate here eating with the rest of you?"

"She has taken to eating before us, Captain," replied Finn steadily. "She has already finished her dinner and I believe she returned to her room."

"And why, exactly, does she feel this is necessary?"

"Aya has been feeling...threatened, let's say, by one of the others and has been avoiding him to avoid accidentally- or not accidentally- hurting him," supplied Keiji, seeing where Law was heading.

"And who is it that she feels threatened by?" asked Law quietly, observing. He already knew that it was Miller, but he wanted to see if the man would try to redeem himself or not.

"Th-that would be m-me, Captain," admitted Miller quietly, slowly raising his hand into the air.

"And why are you terrorizing and assaulting your newest crewmate, Mister Miller?"

Miller started shaking; he knew he was in over his head now. "I-I honestly don't know, Captain. I can't explain it; it-it's just an uncontrollable feeling. Every time she's around, I get really pissed off, and-"

"And so instead of reining in your emotions and dealing with your anger, you go berserk and take it out on her?" Law cut in smoothly.

"I-I'm sorry, Captain, I don't-"

"It's not me you should be apologizing to, Mister Miller. Rather, you should go apologize to Aya and beg for your life; if it weren't for Jean Bart stopping Aya at the last second, I have no doubt that you would have probably bled to death from the wound she almost gave you."

"Y-yes, Captain," Miller replied with a shaky voice.

"Go wait for me in the infirmary," Law ordered. "I'm not done with you yet."

As Miller left, his face nearly having aged ten years from pure fear, Law turned to the large ex-captain beside him. "What happened between them earlier today?"

Jean Bart looked at his captain. "Miller was relaxing with the rest of us except for Mason and Tanner, who had gone along with Aya and were busy in the engine room. Aya had gone with them so that she could stay away from Miller and chat with Tanner."

"Aya said that Miller had been relentlessly going after her for days, but she didn't think Miller would expect her to hide in his sanctuary right under his nose," inserted Tanner. "She and I were together for quite some time, just talking while I recorded the boiler gauges. We were interrupted by a loud banging sound from where Mason had been working on the engine. Once we knew he was okay, I told Aya that she should leave since Miller would come to see what had happened."

"She didn't get very far, then," rumbled Jean Bart. "I found the two of them. Just outside the engine room, with Aya pinned to the wall by Miller while he made fun of her. Of course, Aya didn't take it lying down, either; one of her knives was pointed at his stomach, just below the ribcage. I grabbed her wrist before she stabbed him and threw Miller into the opposite wall."

"How was he making fun of her?"

"He called her a slut and a bitch, and said that since she was one she might as well entertain him and act like one," said Jean in a low voice, the cold fury returning.

Law closed his eyes; internally, he was livid with anger as he imagined all the ways he could punish the mechanic.

"He said _what_?" asked Tanner indignantly, standing from his place. "Miller actually said that?"

Jean Bart looked up at the other mechanic and nodded.

Tanner slammed a fist down on the table. "Aya...I was so close by and I didn't even know..."

"Take a seat, Mister Tanner," said Law, opening his eyes. "I'll deal with him."

Standing, the Surgeon of Death walked out of the mess hall, leaving the other four men to their own thoughts. He quickly made his way back to the infirmary, where Miller awaited his verdict.

"Lie down on the bed," instructed Law, unlocking a desk drawer and pulling out a scalpel.

Miller did as he was instructed. Law placed the satchel behind his ear while he strapped Miller down by his hands and feet, restraining him so that he could struggle but he couldn't escape.

"...C-Captain?" asked the mechanic nervously. "Wha...what's going on here?"

Law leaned down until he could whisper in the man's ear. "Punishment," he whispered maliciously. He pondered for a moment whether or not he should use an anesthetic, but figured that since it was punishment he might as well make sure Miller wouldn't do it again.

With that, he stood and removed the scalpel from behind his ear. Ignoring the protests of his newest captive, Law placed the scalpel blade against Miller's skin and pushed down on it lightly, drawing blood. Miller flinched and continued to protest, but Law paid no attention. The man wasn't screaming yet.

Pushing down harder, he broke through Miller's skin. Re-adjusting his grip on the scalpel, he began to slowly drag the scalpel through Miller's flesh, making his first cut. Miller's scream echoed through the open infirmary door, loud enough to irritate Law. Blood immediately began streaming out of the long, open gash, but Law didn't care.

He lifted the scalpel from his first cut and moved, aligning his scalpel for the second. As he pushed against the skin, blood began flowing profusely from the one he had just made. Slicing through his subordinate 's flesh a second time, a bit harsher due to his irritation, he heard the man below him yell again. He dragged the scalpel through a second time until it met with the previous cut. Removing the scalpel as Miller stopped screaming, he looked back at what he had done.

Still not satisfied, he pushed a hand down on Miller's chest and watched as blood coated over his hand. Miller yelled again, and Law was willing to bet that he was attracting an audience. Removing his hand, he stared at it and back down at Miller. "Now let's see what fate decides," said Law, neither excited or sad.

Looking towards the door, he noticed Akito and Bepo standing there. "Bepo, fetch Aya."

As the polar bear turned and walked away, Akito walked into the infirmary and stared at Miller, at all the blood that now pooled on his chest and overflowed down his sides onto the bed.

"Something wrong, Mister Akito?" asked Law, observing the younger medic.

Akito kept on looking before slowly shaking his head. "No. If you didn't do it, Aya would have done it eventually. It's better this way."

"That hasn't been decided yet," said Law. He absentmindedly noted that the mechanic had passed out, probably due to blood loss.

"There's still a decision to be made."


	7. Or Rather The Devils You Don't Know

**I owe you all an enormous apology for making you wait so long for this chapter! College is harder than I thought...For those of you in high school (or middle school, if that's the case), enjoy it while you're there! If you thought that your English class is bad, then you won't like Freshman English. Also, take some AP classes, because they count as college credit so that you can skip some of your college General Ed requirements (like Freshman Engish).**

**Once again, my thanks to Silvers Ashe, hooligans in hoola hoops, romanianrose85, Angelgirl236, Cassius Valens 06, and royalrabbit for following this story, to birdsescape and The Corrupted Hobo Ninja for favoriting it, and to Lepsie for doing both!**

**During the process of writing this chapter, I switched from an iPad 1 (iOS 5) to an iPad 2 (iOS 7). Unfortunately, now I have to go find all of the reviews that you all made! I think I got them all, but if I missed yours then I'm truly sorry.**

**Wings-chan: I hope that this satisfies your curiosity, but I fear I left you with yet another cliffhanger...**

**10th Squad 3rd Seat: I've read that story and absolutely love it, but I didn't take that idea from there. And if you like that, then I can promise you that Miller will have more coming to him.**

**Savage Kill: The scary part is that Law thinks that it's _fun_ to do something like that. He even took pleasure in stitching up Luffy and Jimbei after Marineford.**

**Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Well, you got one of the choices right, but what happens afterwards probably isn't considered a blessing for Miller.**

* * *

The Ties That Bind Ch 7 - Vs. The Devils You Don't Know

_"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but one of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof."_

- Richard Bach

* * *

Aya looked up at the sound of knocking on her door. Unlocking it and turning the knob, she looked up to see Bepo staring back at her.

"Bepo," said Aya, surprised. "What's going on? I heard screaming."

"Follow me," said the polar bear shortly.

Aya was surprised at the bear's stiff tone, but never the less closed the door behind her and followed him down to the infirmary. She paused as Bepo motioned for her to open the door, giving him a sideways look before doing so.

Opening it, the first thing that met her eyes was the figure of Law, standing against the wall with his nodachi next to him. Her eyes lit up, and she relaxed at the sight of him.

"Welcome back, Cap-"

"-tain..." she finished slowly, noticing the blood that coated his hand and ran down is arm. "Are you alright?

Law shook his head. "It's not my blood, it's _his_," he said, motioning across the room with his clean hand.

Aya followed the direction Law had pointed out, and was shocked to see Akito standing at the foot of the infirmary bed, with Miller laying on it and blood pouring froom his chest.

"Miller...what happened to him?" asked Aya, walking over to the bed and staring down at the man on it. She noted the two wounds that led from each shoulder to his mid-torso; it was like the man was being autopsied while he was still alive. Blood pooled in the center of his chest, until it could hold no more and ran down his sides onto the bed, staining the white sheets permanently.

"The better question is, what do I do with him now?" countered Law, watching Aya examine Miller.

"Why do you say that?" asked Aya, turnng her head and shoulders to stare at the surgeon.

Law's grey eyes turned cold, and pure fury seemed to emenate from them. "Mister Miller attempted assault and comitted harassment against a fellow crewmate. As the captain of this vessel, that cannot be overlooked. I expect each member of my crew to respect each other, even if they don't necessarily get along. His punishment from me is to bear the scars of his punishment. But first, you need to decide, as the victim, whether or not Mister Miller should live or die in the first place. Oh, and you've only got about...a minute to decide before he'll die anyway,' he stated, looking at his watch as he finished talking.

Aya stared at Law in disbelief before quickly turning to look at Akito, who still stood at the end of Miller's bed. Akito nodded; whether it was in support or not was unclear.

Aya grasped the railing of the bed to which Miller's restraints were attached and rested her forehead on it, her thoughts racing.

"Forty-five seconds," said Law from behind her.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" said Aya under her breath, coming to a decision. She straightened up and turned to look at Law. "Fix him up, please," she requested, knowing better than to order Law to do something.

"For what reason?" asked Law.

"Because although he has been a major pain in the ass for the past week, he is still a fellow crew member. He's here because you need him for something, and I have no right to take that from you. Besides, if he recovers he'll owe me anyway, and I can hold that over his head for a while. If this man is to die, I want it to be when _I_ want it, by _my_ hand," said Aya.

"Then wait here." Moving to the cabinets that stood on the wall behind the door, Law pulled out two large towels. Laying the first one over Miller's chest, it instantly began to absorb Miller's blood until it was completely saturated. Law then motioned for Akito to come forward; placing the dirty towel in Akito's hands, he proceeded to place the other on top of Miller, and when it finished absorbing what was left of the pool of blood, he handed that to Akito as well.

Akito left the room with the bloody towels, trying to not let them drip all over the floors as he did so. Law returned his attention to Miller, releasing the restraints and hoisting Miller into the air with one hand.

_"Mes,' _he said quietly, pushing against Miller's chest with the other.

Aya watched as a square section of Miller's body was carved, and then pushed out. Hearing the quiet, pulsing _th-thump_ as the cube hit the bed, she knew it to be his heart.

Law lowered Miller back onto the bed, Miller's heart appearing in his hand. He turned to Aya, offering out the cube. "Here, take this."

Aya took the encased heart in both hands, jumping in surprise as it pulsed. She looked up at Law. "Why are you giving me this?"

Law turned away from her, preparing to tend to the mechanic. "Because now you hold his life in your hands," Law stated. "If you squeeze the heart, it will bring him great pain. If you stab it, it will bring instant death. You can do as you please, once I'm done here. Take that and go back to your room; put it somewhere safe. I'll come for you when I'm done here."

Aya looked down at the beating cube, not sure what to make of the power she now held in her hands. Not paying attention, she absentmindedly allowed Bepo to lead her out of the infirmary and back to her quarters.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Law walked out of the infirmary, hands miraculously clean of all blood. As he closed the door behind him, he noticed Keiji leaning against the wall, waiting for him.

"You're going to talk to Aya, right?" asked Keiji quickly.

"Why?"

"How's Miller?" asked Keiji, looking through the infirmary door's window even though Miller couldn't be seen.

"He'll live. He'll be in a lot of pain when he wakes up, so I want you to give him a pain-killer and a sedative when he wakes." said Law, looking back at the infirmary.

Keiji nodded. "That's good; I'm glad he's okay. But there's something else you should see." He held out the file that he had taken from the infirmary earlier.

Law took it, opening it to see Aya's medical record. He scanned through it, taking note of the TRP Syndrome, the amoxicillin allergy, and the panic attack that Keiji had written down.

"Good work," said Law, closing the file and handing it back to Keiji.

"I'll be here if you need me," said Keiji as Law walked away, headed for Aya's room.

Not bothering to acknowledge the other's comment, Law kept walking until he reached Aya's room. Taking out his key, he unlocked the door and opened it.

Aya, laying on the bed, quickly sat up. "That door _was_ locked," she pointed out to him.

He held up the key in his hand, smirking as she let out a small groan. Closing the door behind him, he motioned for her to scoot over and sat down on the bed next to her. "Doesn't do you any good if there's another key," he replied. "Luckily for you, only I have the copied keys."

"Oh, goodie," she repied sarcastically.

Law looked around the room. "So, where'd you put it?" he asked.

"The heart, you mean?"

He nodded. "Show me."

She stared at Law for a moment, unsure, before moving off the bed. Moving to her closet, she pulled open the doors and reached inside, behind her clothes. A concealed button revealed a fairly large hidden compartment in the back, which held the beating heart she had wrapped in a boiler suit.

Law was understandably surprised, seeing his boiler suit uniform become swaddling clothes. "Why is the boiler suit there?"

"Because it's the only thing thick enough to hide the pulsing motion it makes, or the sound that goes with it," said Aya. Closing the compartment, she reached inside one of the drawers below the closet and pulled out something else.

"Here you go," said Aya, holding out a sweater to Law. "It's yours; now that you're back, I don't have any reason to keep it."

Law took the sweater, unfolding it to reveal his Jolly Roger. Looking it over, he saw that it had been well taken care of. He folded the sweater in half, and motioned for Aya to sit again.

She obeyed, sitting with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap. "Law...did I make the right choice?"

Law observed the girl, trying to read her. "What happened to all that certainty you had?"

Aya shook her head. "I don't doubt the decision I made. If I had to do it again, I would do the same thing. But was it the right choice?"

"That's for you to decide," said Law simply.

Aya let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair, so Law decided to go for a different approach. "So, how many people did you have to mind-alter before the crew accepted you?" he asked, smirking again.

Aya frowned at the insinuation. "Only one, if you must know. Bepo, because he tried to kung-fu me off the sub. And it's not mind-altering, it's mind-linking. There's a difference."

"Only one?" repeated Law. "And you didn't threaten to assassinate anyone, either?"

"Just Miller when he trapped me earlier today," replied Aya. "Everyone else accepted me right away."

Law chose not to comment on her last sentence. "Well done."

Aya was surprised to hear genuine praise from him, but quickly accepted it. Law ran a tight ship, so praise was something she knew wouldn't come often.

"I had a look at your medical file," said Law. "What can you tell me about your syndrome?"

"The TRPS, you mean?"

Law nodded in response.

"Well, I can tell you that the acronym's translation is "hair-nose-finger" syndrome," stated Aya. "It's the reason I'm small in stature. Neither of my parents had it, though, so I guess they were just carriers of it. Neither of my brothers have it, either. I have thin hair, a bulbous nose, and short, crooked fingers. Doflamingo's doctors said that it has also affected my kidneys; I essentially only have one kidney, since my left side is extremely small and only pulls five percent while my right side is larger than normal and pulls the other ninety-five percent."

"Lots of fluids for you, then," said Law.

Aya nodded. "There's still a lot I don't know though, so it would be nice to be able to do research on it eventually."

"There are some up sides, though," mused Law. "You're small, which explains why Doflamingo made you an assassin; you fit into spaces that most adults your age could only dream of fitting into. And you're light, so you barely make any sound."

Aya nodded. "All of Doflamingo's workers have second or third aliases; one of mine is "Baby Rose" since I'm small. Although the man himself prefers to call me something...else," she finished with a sour face.

"What's the rose part for?"

Aya grinned. "It's because I'm supposed to be "graceful yet deadly." Just like how roses have thorns, I have my knives which I use to hurt others in order to protect myself."

"Very astute," noted Law. "Speaking of knives, have you been tested yet?"

"You mean in my fighting abilities? No, not yet."

"Good. Well, there's no better time than the present," said Law, smirking. "I'll give you fifteen minutes to prepare whatever you need; after that, make your way to the deck and I'll meet you there."

He got up off the bed and left the room as Aya stared incredulously behind him.

* * *

And so, fifteen minutes later, Aya found herself walking up onto the deck, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the natural evening light, and came face to face with Akito, Mason, and Law himself. The few of the crew that were left anticipated a good show and had placed themselves on the submarine's railing, close to the hatch, to watch.

She turned her attention to Law. "Captain?"

"You will fight Akito, Mason, and myself to test your fighting competency," Law stated. "Akito will test your reflexes and your speed, Mason will test your power and your accuracy, and I will test your strategizing and Devil Fruit capabilities. You will win so long as you don't end up falling overboard."

Aya stepped away from the hatch, closer to the center of the deck, and was met by Akito while Law and Mason stepped back to observe.

_'Reflexes and speed, right? Which means that Akito's moves will be both quick and accurate.' _Aya analyzed this information quickly, pulling out a kunai and the hunting knife in order not to weigh herself down.

Akito took a low, ready stance with one arm behind him while Aya remained upright, both people waiting for Law's signal.

"Begin when ready," Law said, leaving it open to the two fighters.

Immediately, Akito came running towards her. He pulled a dagger out from behind him, a few inches longer than her largest knife, and tried to stab her with it.

Aya sidstepped out and directed Akito's outstretched arm towards the deck, circling around behind him rapidly to recover. She had been right; he was incredibly light on his feet, crossing the five-meter distance between them in under two seconds and throwing himself at her with the dagger aimed for her right lung.

Akito recovered and turned on the spot, coming to face her again. The dagger rested lightly in his hand, being handled with relative ease by the young man. The sunlight shone around him and revealed the bloodstains that remained on Akito's arms, giving him a wild look.

Aya held up her knives in front of her at the ready as Akito approached again, this time a bit slower as he looked for openings. He leapt into the air, intending to use gravity to put more force behind a slice, but Aya crossed the two knives over her head, one resting on the other, and jumped upwards in order to meet it in midair.

The three weapons clashed together directly over Aya's head, the kunai taking the brunt of the blow and the hunting knife absorbing the impact. The two knives stopped the dagger's downward travel, and the two combatants fell back to the deck together. They broke apart, eyeing each other.

Aya was at a disadvantage, being in the open arena of the deck. As an assassin, she could use her kunai or her heavier throwing knife to kill or wound most of her opponents from a distance without being seen. But with the dagger that Akito was holding, neither of the two would be able to get anywhere close to him and Aya had nowhere to hide. Stuck at close quarters, she was obviously outmatched. She'd have to come up with a different way of matching Akito's style.

Aya quickly leapt to the side, avoiding another thrust from Akito's dagger as she tried to find a way to beat him. She deflected a slice and tried to retaliate, but the long dagger swept horizontally towards her, keeping her at a distance from Akito's lithe body. Akito pushed his advantage, a return sweep from the dagger aimed across her eyes. Aya leaned back to avoid the stroke, using her backwards momentum to backflip away.

Akito pursued her once more, and as Aya backed up she was suddenly faced with the cold railing at her backside. Her eyes widened slightly at the contact, but she kept her focus on Akito. He brought down the dagger in a diagonal slice, aiming for the side of her neck, but she deflected it with the hunting knife, hearing the satisfying _clang_ as the dagger hit the railing instead.

With the dagger out of the way for a split second, Aya risked a glance over the railing at the water below. Since they were in the port the water was shallower, but deep enough that even a giant would be fairly submerged. As a Devil Fruit user, that depth could kill her five times over.

Returning her attention to her crewmate, she hastily deflected another stab from Akito. Flipping the kunai so that it was in a reverse grip, she attempted to sweep it across his stomach, but the smaller weapon was easily parried by the dagger. She immediately took the hunting knife and chucked it, with all the force she could muster, near Akito's face in order to get him to back off a bit and give her more room. As soon as he had backpedaled a good distance she also threw the kunai, aiming for his chest.

That was blocked by the dagger and fell to the deck with a small thud; her other knife had most likely gone overboard into the water. But it had accomplished her goal. She now had room and time with which to maneuver.

Akito was staring at her like she was crazy; of course, most normal people wouldn't carelessly abandon their defenses as she had just done. He approached her slowly, extending his arm and placing the edge of his dagger at her neck. "I win," he said, is voice still conveying confusion.

Aya crouched down, reaching up with her left hand for the arm which held the dagger at her neck and grabbing it in a firm grip. Still crouched, she took a step forward and stuck her head in between Akito's feet. She pulled down sharply on his arm as she raised herslf into a standing position, effectively flipping Akito over her and onto the railing from where his momentum carried him straight into the water below.

She stayed put for a moment, looking at a clearly impressed crew and her unreadable captain. "No, I win," she said with a smirk. Sputtering from behind her told her that Akito had resurfaced, and she turned to smile down at him. "I hope you had a nice bath," she called down to him. Akito cursed back at her, only making her smile grow wider.

She turned back to the crew, fetching her kunai and once again stepping into the center of the deck. Penguin and Shachi ran past her with a rope ladder, helping Akito haul himself out of the ocean below. The water-trodden male smiled as he walked by her and back into the sub for some fresh clothes; he held no hard feelings.

The next opponent up, Mason stepped up into the center of deck as well. He was built more like a bear, with a larger overall mass behind him than Akito, meaning that Aya wouldn't be capable of throwing him over her shoulder like she had just done.

Mason pulled out a hammer from the toolbelt around his waist, twirling his left wrist to test its weight. Obviously satisfied, he adopted a ready stance.

Watching him, Aya sheathed her kunai (her hunting knife was still rusting in the ocean) and pulled out the larger throwing knife. Since Miller had more power behind him, she'd just have to match it with a heavier knife. Not that she was planning on attacking him anyway.

"Begin," Law called out again.

Unlike Akito, Mason made no attempt to jump at her or charge towards her. He didn't move at all, in fact, observing her just as she observed him.

Seconds went by and silence reigned over the deck as both the fighters and the spectators waited for the first move.

Aya watched Mason's chest, knowing that it would give away his first move.

Sure enough, Mason stepped forward heavily, his thick boots thudding loudly on the deck.

Aya took a step back.

Mason stepped forward again.

Aya stepped back.

Mason took a third step forwards.

Aya stepped forwards this time, shortening the gap and making Mason pause.

Aya took another step forward, using his hesitation to shorten the gap even further.

Mason didn't move, waiting to see what it was that Aya had in mind.

Aya took a slight pause before diving for Mason's legs. As Mason back pedaled slightly, she took his left leg in her free hand and made a cut across it with the throwing knife in her right. A long, yet shallow gash was left behind, the blood quickly being absorbed by Mason's overalls. It wasn't much, but she was hoping that it would be enough to unsettle him.

Mason looked down at the hole that Aya had created, but was only mildly surprised that it was getting a bit bloody. Looking back up at her, he saw her waiting for him. Slightly annoyed by her manner he ran forward and swung the large hammer, being careful to stop himself from hitting the deck as Aya nimbly dodged it; if he broke the deck, he'd have to fix it.

Aya witnessed Mason's control, noting that it was rather unseen in a man of such strength. It wasn't easy to stop something like that, especially since the centrifugal force was combined with the gravity of a downward swing. Running closer, she nicked him with her knife again, this time making a deep cut across his right arm. Blood slowly ran down his arm, reaching his fingers. It dripped lightly onto the deck. More blood ran from Aya's knife to her own hand as she held up the blade in defense.

Mason wasn't overly worried by the deep cut, seeing it as a nuisance more than anything else. What did begin to worry him was that the monkey in front of him was doing him damage and he couldn't strike back. Like Aya, Mason was a person who preferred to take out their opponents from afar, using his hammer to knock away a Marine's rifle and then either take a wide swing at him or chuck it at his head. This technique had served him well ever since he had joined Law's crew, since Law was usually the one who fought Devil Fruit users. But since Aya couldn't kill him, he couldn't throw her overboard, and he was using a short-range weapon against another short-range weapon it looked like he would be at a loss here at close quarters.

Aya attacked again, this time succeeding in making a large gash across his thigh. He stumbled; she must have hit a muscle. Growling in irritation, he swung the hammer around behind him, aiming low. He was rewarded with a light crunching sound. Turning around, he saw that he had hit her forearm as she protected her head from the hammer.

Aya gritted her teeth, but didn't make a sound as a wave of pain invaded her head, telling her that the right arm was at least fractured, probably broken, and that it would be of no further use to her in this confrontation. Raising from her crouching position, she faced Mason again. She took two steps back, placing herself out of the range of his hammer. She was now determined to finish this fight rather quickly, since Mason was obviously a bulldozer of power. She didn't have the time or the resistence to wear him down slowly like she had originally planned.

She ran forward two steps and jumped upwards, towards Mason's head. He backpedaled a bit and leaned away to try and avoid her, but Aya latched one hand onto the strap of Mason's overalls and swung around, placing herself squarely on his back, between his shoulder blades. She crouched, placing her feet below his shoulder blades and being careful not to drop the throwing knife.

Mason tried to shake her off, but Aya hung on with grim determination. And as he reached over his shoulders in an attempt to grab her, she used the only option she had left. As his right hand came over, she watched it for a moment before lunging forward and biting down on his pinky.

He jerked in surprise and pain, and Aya let his finger go. She spit onto the deck, tasting Mason's blood from his wound on her tongue. He swung his body around, and since she was only hanging on with one arm she swung with him. As his face came back into view, she let go of his overall strap and drew more blood with a slice along his neck.

Mason reached up to his neck in surprise, feeling the graze that the throwing knife had left him. He noticed Aya crouch low, probably prepared to jump at him again, but he held up his hands in surrender, dropping his hammer.

Aya stood upright, surprised by this turn of events. "Mason-san?"

Mason gave her a small smile. "Good going, Aya. I forfeit this round."

The observers began to protest, and Aya cocked her head sideways. "What for?"

Mason motioned to the wound on the side of his neck. "Checkmate. If I had been a real opponent, this would have been a lethal mark. Therefore, by all rights you have won."

Mason looked over at Law. "Satisfied, Captain?" he asked.

Law nodded, motioning for Mason to return to the ring of spectators. Mason obeyed, picking up his hammer and tucking it back into his workbelt.

Aya watched him go, and was understandably surprised when she sensed an immenent threat coming towards her. Ducking out of the way, she turned around to see her new attacker.

"Law?!"


	8. Together Yet Not Together

**I hope I'm doing better with the intervals between uploads...I really don't like making you all wait because I actually enjoy writing this (even though, once again, I'm in Chinese class). This chapter is smaller, kinda like a filler or a conclusion to the first part. Next comes the juicy stuff, I promise!**

**Many thanks this time around to Tenshi Anime, redtippedquill, Blondchic, and xxRyuu-himexx for favoriting, and to Nameless-dono for favoriting and following.**

**pharoah999: Law was kinda testing her, although we don't know if she passed or failed in his eyes...and more AyaxLaw will come in a few chapters, once I finish setting up the situation for them.**

**Yumi Sawamura: I know! I'm sorry! I use cliffhangers all the time, and even I find it annoying! In regards to Law hurting his own man, the ONLY reason he would even think about hurting one of his own is if that person hurt another crew member or the crew itself. Remember, Law is highly controlling and possessive; he won't lose one crew member due to the personal issues of another.**

* * *

The Ties That Bind Ch. 8 - Together Yet Not Together

_"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone who's weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."_

- Dr. Seuss

* * *

Aya jumped backwards as Law's sheathed nodachi swung towards her abdomen. Only then did she notice the blue bubble that had expanded to engulf the submarine. She scowled. "Not wasting any time, are you?"

"As dumb as your opponent might be, they won't give up an opportunity if they see it." He unsheathed the nodachi, holding it out horizontally. _"Tact." _Using the nodachi as a scanner, he located all of the knives that were hidden on her person. He was mildly surprised to register around ten; only three were visible at all times. He called the knives to him, watching as a few struggled out of her sleeves, and collected them in a mound behind him.

Aya gave a small sigh; this was already a lost fight in her mind. "_Soul Link,"_ she said quietly. As a part of her mind raced to connect with Law's, she was confronted by a barrier of what appeared to be stone around Law's consciousness, blocking her access. He had been prepared for her assault. She mentally cursed, glad that Law couldn't hear it. If it was stone, she'd have to find a way to break it down.

Meanwhile, in the physical world Aya was just barely able to avoid the long-distance slices that Law made in an attempt to amputate her. As good as she was, Law was truly on a whole new level with the aid of his Devil Fruit powers.

"You should train your abilities more often," commented Law as he sent another series of attacks in her direction.

Aya, a good three feet away from him on the other side of the deck, stumbled and fell forward as her right leg was finally severed from her torso. She really was beginning to get annoyed with her current situation. "Why's that?" She called back as she rubbed her sore nose roughly. In her mental battle she repeatedly threw herself against the stone wall, testing whether or not she could break it down.

"Your ability to sense people at a large distance depends on sensing their heightened emotions. Anxiety, fear, excitement, anger or anguish. If the emotions aren't felt as strongly then you can't sense them until they come closer to you, which is why you barely sensed my presence behind you but you felt the Marines so easily."

"Bravo," she said sarcastically. He had hit the nail on the head, though. She crawled over to the railing of the submarine and hauled herself upright with her good arm, balancing on the one leg. Mentally, she grew frustrated when the wall refused to yield under her barrage. Taking a break for a moment, she analyzed the wall to try and find another way through it.

Law approached her, his nodachi still at the ready. "A weakness like that could lead to your death one day. The admirals don't get fired up as quickly as the others do, which would leave you at a disadvantage if you ever face one."

Aya stared directly at him, barely holding his gaze. He brought up his nodachi to the side of her neck, and Aya dropped her gaze in defeat. She also ceased her mental battle, feeling the aftereffect of her Devil Fruit as a portion of her energy was drained away. She _had_ found a way to break through his defenses, but mentally it wasn't possible.

Law smirked at her surrender. "It looks like you and I can make a good team though, if you're up to it." He used his Devil Fruit to reattach the leg he had taken from her.

Aya looked down as her leg returned, but was more surprised by his offer. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're obviously competent with long-range combat; I'm a short- and mid-range fighter. I can protect you at close quarters with the Ope Ope no Mi, and you can protect me from anything that comes from outside the range of _Room_ with your Nōri Nōri no Mi."

Aya considered it. "I'll have to think about it for a while, but it doesn't sound too bad."

"Don't take too long to give me your answer," Law ordered. Aya nodded, and Law turned to the crew sitting along the railing. "Show's over; get back to work."

The crew scrambled, stumbling over each other to get to the hatch and quickly pulling it open to disappear inside the depths of the submarine.

Aya followed the others, a few steps behind as she collected her knives and restored them to their proper places. Somehow, even the hunting knife had ended up in that pile. She was still thinking over Law's proposal. Coming from someone like Law, a deal like that was shocking. Law was highly independent and flourished in his dominant position over others. That he would ask for her to cover him in fights was a bit unnerving. Was she good enough that he put her on the same level as him? If their match just now was anything to go by, she was leagues below him in terms of power. And she knew that he wouldn't lower himself to her level; if a person wasn't above him then they were below him. He didn't share with others.

She went up to the navigation room, where Jean Bart and Bepo were looking over a map on the table in the center of the room. Giving the pair a wave as she entered, she walked over to them and looked down at the map as well. "What's this?"

"The captain needs to decide on our next destination, since he said we're leaving tomorrow. The Eternal Pose is pointing to the next best island, but it's up to him whether or not we follow it." Jean Bart looked up at her. " I heard that Miller got quite the punishment earlier."

"Yeah, he's been autopsied," said Aya nonchalantly. "Law fixed him up, and Keiji's keeping an eye on him."

"Are _you_ doing better?" asked Jean Bart.

"You mean without him hunting me down?" Jean Bart nodded. "I guess so. It's nice not having to avoid him anymore, but the results will only show when he wakes up in a few days."

The door to the navigation room opened behind them, and Law walked in. "Bepo, what's going on?"

"Ah, Captain!" exclaimed the bear. "We need you to decide on our next course before we leave tomorrow."

Law walked over to them, looking over the map. "What does the Eternal Pose point to?"

The polar bear placed a large paw on the island off to the right of Zou. "This one, Captain. Malsh Island."

"What are the other two?"

"The center one is Sienna Island, and the one on the left is Blackthorn Island," said Bepo, respectively covering each with a paw.

Law looked at each of the islands, his brows furrowed. "We'll follow the Eternal Pose for now. Make the preparations."

"Aye aye, Captain!" said Jean Bart with a small smile.

Law turned to Aya. "Why haven't you gone to the infirmary yet?" he inquired.

"The infirmary?"

In response, Law gripped her lower arm, making Aya wince and reminding her of the injury that Mason had given her. Law released her, and she gripped her now-throbbing arm with her good hand. "Oh, right. Sorry, I totally forgot about it."

Jean Bart and Bepo stared at her; for her to not remember that the engineer had shattered her arm, she must have a really high tolerance for pain.

Aya turned and left the navigation room, heading down to the infirmary. Keiji would not be happy when he saw her.

* * *

"_Mason_ did this to you?" asked Keiji, holding the injured arm in his hand gently.

"That man is like a stone wall, I tell you!" said Aya defensively. "A wall that fights back!"

"He certainly hasn't lost his touch," commented Keiji. "The bone is broken cleanly, straight through. It looks like it doesn't need to be reset, though, so it makes both your day and mine a bit easier."

"Is that all?" asked Aya, a bit dumbfounded.

"You know, not everybody's accustomed to being human punching bags," said Keiji dryly. He moved to the cabinets, opening one and pulling out a splint. Bracing it against her arm, he ordered her to hold it in place as he began wrapping it in bandages.

"No fighting for a while, okay?" he ordered, staring directly at her.

Aya was going to protest, but just then Law walked through the door. The protest died on her lips, and she nodded her consent.

"Ah, Captain!" greeted Keiji with a smile.

"How is it?" asked Law shortly.

"A clean break," Keiji replied. "I'd give her a week off from any fights we encounter. Tanner can take her place."

Law nodded before turning to Aya. "Go back to your quarters and get some sleep. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Aya looked at Keiji for permission. Keiji nodded, indicating that he was done with her arm, so Aya slid off the bed and wakled out of the infirmary, closing the door behind her.

She walked down the hallways, for once glad to be free of the endless hunting Miller put her through. She could walk in peace, knowing that he was going to be in the infirmary for quite some time. She nearly started singing, but stopped herself when she realized that people would be able to hear her.

As she approached her room she pulled the key out of her back pocket and deftly slid it in the lock. Giving it a full revolution, she turned the handle and popped open the door, pulling out the key as it swung away from her. She walked inside and kicked the door in the opposite direction, hearing it close with a loud thud and locking it again.

She moved to her bed, pulling out the journal and the pen. She opened to the next blank page and started writing.

_Yay! We're finally leaving Zou, now that Law's back. I was so relieved to see him, until I realized that he was punishing Miller and had blood running down his arms. And his eyes were so alive, even though he was punishing one of his own crew! But I guess I should be thankful, since I'll finally be able to keep that bastard away from me. He's a disusting, deceitful son of a...well, let's not go there. Anyway, he's out of the picture for a while. Law gave me Miller's heart. Oh, that was definitely creepy. It's in a cube. It's not bleeding all over the place. It's still beating, too...On another note, Law wants me to be combat partners with him once my arm gets better.I'm not so sure about his offer, though...it's not a question of helping Law, or any of the other crew members for that matter. It's more about my own personal bubble. After what "that man" has done to me, I haven't let anybody be at my back. I'm afraid. Afraid of the possibilities. He promised, but he can't override the fear..._


End file.
